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By Tim Hepher
PARIS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Airbus strategy chiefMarwan Lahoud, one of the founders of Europe's largest aerospacegroup and its M&A czar for the past decade, is leaving thecompany at the end of February, Airbus said on Tuesday.
His successor was not announced but was "subject to furthernotice," Airbus said in a statement, suggesting no decision hadyet been taken on how to replace him or with what kind ofstructure as the company goes through a reorganisation.
Lahoud, 50, was one of a handful of strategists involved ina sequence of mergers that led to the creation in 2000 of whatwas then called EADS, an aerospace group with diverse intereststhat included the existing Airbus planemaking business.
He was later seen as the architect of an attempted mergerwith UK defence giant BAE Systems Plc in 2012.
The deal was called off amid German government opposition,but Lahoud was credited with salvaging corporate reforms fromthe deal that reduced the role of French and German governments.
EADS was later renamed Airbus Group, which in turn mergedwith its dominant planemaking subsidiary in January, leading toa shake-up of senior roles.
Lahoud's departure is seen as a surprise.
People close to the group have said that the internalmerger, which is expected to lead to around 1,000 administrativejob cuts as the group effectively squashes fourheadquarters-type operations into one, has led to increasedin-fighting.
Lahoud expanded his responsibilities in the reorganisationto include oversight of product strategy for Airbus jets thatmake up most of the company's revenue, but the changes had metsome resistance, according to people close to the group.
Furthermore, he is widely said to have a guardedrelationship with Fabrice Bregier, head of the planemakingdivision and company No.2, and may have calculated he had onlylimited chances of stepping into Bregier's shoes when the lattereventually steps up to succeed Tom Enders as chief executiveofficer.
A person familiar with Lahoud's decision said earlier thathe had decided in late 2016 not to renew his mandate as he hadconcluded that his role was no longer necessary.
"With the creation of one single Airbus, we finallyaccomplished the ultimate merger. Now, it's time for me to moveon and I am now looking forward to embracing new challenges,"Lahoud said in a company statement.
The statement did not say what Lahoud, who is also presidentof France's GIFAS aerospace industry lobby, planned to do next. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Adrian Croft and LisaShumaker)