CCO PROFILE: RAY BONCI
R&C: What pivotal experiences have shaped your approach to compliance throughout your career?
Bonci: My approach to compliance was fundamentally forged during the first year I rejoined Airbus in 2016, in the midst of what ultimately became the largest bribery investigation in history. Navigating this multijurisdictional crisis – and the subsequent years of intense scrutiny from two independent compliance monitors – taught me endurance. Compliance is a long process because it involves several factors beyond the policymaking, controls and testing that most people envision. Fundamentally, it is about changing human behaviour and the way that people work, sometimes quite literally – for example when new compliance technology is inserted into logistical flows to control the export of goods. The natural inclination of most people, even among the best-intentioned, is to be somewhat reticent of change. So compliance needs to take into account this human element and the pace of change needs to be calibrated to what the company can reasonably absorb in time. For an impatient person like myself, and someone who enjoys change personally, this was a hard lesson. But it also made me laser-focused on priorities that would have the biggest impact.
R&C: How do you navigate complex regulatory environments and evolving legal frameworks? What guiding principles inform your decision making?
Bonci: Navigating complex and shifting regulatory frameworks requires a strong core of globally aligned compliance standards as a foundation. Without that, decision making in response to regulatory change will necessarily be rushed and haphazard.
Jul-Sep 2026 Issue
Airbus