Rolls-Royce, a company that develops and delivers power and propulsion solutions for safety-critical applications in the air, at sea and on land, has appointed John Kelly as its President for Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META), with immediate effect.
Before this role, Mr Kelly spent six years as senior Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the company’s civil aerospace business. He joined the firm over 20 years ago, in 2001, as a graduate trainee in the defence section, and rose to become a senior manager before joining the firm’s civil aerospace division.
Kelly said that Africa is the world’s second-most populous continent and on target to become the first to grow its economies solely through modern technologies and sustainable low-carbon energy sources.
“I will aim to ensure we build upon our foundations while supporting transformative economic growth, climate resilience and an energy transition that is right for Africa,” he said.
In his new role, he will assume group-wide leadership and representation for the group’s civil aerospace, power systems and defence businesses across the META region, engaging with senior government and industry stakeholders. He is expected to grow partnerships across Africa, reflecting Rolls-Royce’s core engineering and technological innovations.
“While we are renowned for excellence in civil aerospace, we will leverage opportunities for all the Rolls-Royce businesses, providing safety-critical power and propulsion solutions for Africa’s major infrastructure projects and industrial customers. Our technology can play a fundamental role in enabling the transition to a low carbon global economy,” he said.
Rolls-Royce employs over 150 people across Africa with an extensive reach across the region. The company’s civil aerospace serves over 20 African airline customers across 15 countries. Since 2017, the company has supported the inception of three new airlines and delivered over 30 new aircraft. It also powers a large proportion of the regional aircraft market, with over 95 aircraft in service.
The firm’s Systems Africa division, headquartered in South Africa, supports Africa’s growing power generation, marine, rail and industrial sectors, providing power solutions to datacentres, mining, oil and gas, shipping, locomotive and agriculture companies.
