Jean Pierson
Pierson was born on 17 November 1940 in Bizerte in the French protectorate of Tunisia. He studied at the Prytanée national militaire and the military academy in La Flèche, France, and graduated from the Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace in 1963. His started his career in 1963 at Sud Aviation, the predecessor of Airbus Industrie, where he worked as a production engineer. He joined French aerospace manufacturer Aérospatiale in 1972, going on to head their commercial aircraft business. From 1972 to 1976, Pierson served as director of SOCATA, the light aircraft division of Aérospatiale, and then as director of the Toulouse office of Aérospatiale from 1976 to 1983.