by Liliane-Carol Benoit

Charles Edelstenne, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation and president of the French Aeronautical and Space Industries Organization, has spent a lifetime in the aeronautics industry—a business he never dreamed he would be a part of. A trained accountant, Edelstenne was introduced to Dassault Aviation 40 years ago and he hasn’t looked back. “I always envisioned myself working in a liberal profession and being my own boss,” says the 78-year-old. “I discovered then that I was more attracted to aeronautics than I valued my own independence.” Edelstenne became one of Marcel Dassault’s closest advisors, and today is at the helm of Dassault, a company that, with its civilian aircraft alone, generates a return of almost $3 billion annually.