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Gert Wagner couldn’t have had a rougher start to his new role as President and CEO. Tasked with leading the team at MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, the aviation veteran found himself in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic.
“I remember when I arrived, the doors of the aircraft opened and I saw all these people in blue uniforms wearing masks,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “I felt like I was in an outbreak movie.”
It was a sobering introduction that took a little of the sheen off Wagner’s new role. He joined MTU Aero Engines, the leading German aerospace company listed in the German DAX, in 2005, and held several positions within the company until the move to China arose.
“Everybody was sick; we had something like a 60 percent absence rate, so it was very hard to run the company at first,” he recalls. “But once people came back, so did a big demand, and we’ve grown dramatically ever since. Now, we’re running at full speed and it’s a very exciting time.”
Since those tenuous early days, Wagner has overseen the significant expansion of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s facilities. Just in March 2025, the team celebrated the opening of a second facility.
“That brings us close to being one of the biggest engine shops in the world, capacity-wise,” he says.
In 2024, MTU had 500 shop visits. The recent expansions have given the firm the capacity for up to 710 shop visits in the future.
“We’re very confident about filling those shops,” Wagner says.
“The market is there within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation alone. Boeing and Airbus are forecasting for the next 20 years their fleets to double, with 80 percent narrow-body aircraft.
“We have all major narrow-body engines in our facility, so now it’s up to us to convince our customers through our performance and our expertise to send their engines to us along with their faith and trust.”
And it’s trust that keeps aviation maintenance airborne. Quality and safety are paramount, so a company such as MTU Maintenance Zhuhai must make trust its currency. Fortunately, Wagner says that’s its strength.
“Everything is prepared for growth,” he says. “We have the right capacity, the right people on board; the market is there. I’m very confident.”
Filling those shops requires a world-class parts supply chain backed by a peerless global logistics network, with many services sourced locally. From endoscope supplier Everest VIT Beijing and tooling provider Dedienne Aerospace to aviation supplies firm China Aviation Supplies Co and surface treatment leader John Cockerill, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai has a stable of industry heavyweights in its corner.
“In the supply chain, the most important relationship you have in our business is with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” Wagner says.
“I’ve been in this business for over 20 years and I know all the OEMs. I have personal relationships with them. That communication and networking are key, because when you have a problem, you have to know who to talk to. Suddenly, the market isn’t so big.”
Wagner says that in a high-pressure environment such as aeronautical engineering, fairness is still a factor.
“To keep long-term relationships going, you have to understand these OEMs have their limits,” he says. “You have to treat them fairly.”
That close collaboration with a diverse range of OEMs also gives MTU access to a broad spectrum of innovation – especially when it comes to sustainability.
“That’s a big topic for all the OEMs,” Wagner says. “They’re all developing concepts to reduce emissions and maybe one day become emission neutral, so the main thing we can do is prepare our customers for using sustainable aviation fuel.”
In 2025, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai took an important step in that direction by testing engines using sustainable aviation fuel – a first for the Chinese facility. “We’re the first MRO shop in China able to offer this,” he says.
“It’s a big achievement and a big step forward. It can change our industry.”
With so much at stake, from safety to innovation, Wagner says leadership in this industry is a surprisingly simple matter.
“For me, it’s down to two quotes. Jack Welch said, ‘It’s all about people,’ while Peter Drucker said, ‘A culture eats strategy for breakfast’. As a leader, you have to inject a healthy culture into your organization and you have to take care of your people. They make it happen, so you have to treat them well.”
Every person in the MTU Maintenance Zhuhai extended family is different, he adds, and everyone needs a different approach.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” he says. “You have to gain trust and they have to believe you’re leading the organization in the right direction.”
Wagner’s trial by fire in the midst of the worst industry crisis since the September 11 attacks went a long way toward building that trust.
“It’s very different than right now, which is very comfortable. We have full order books and it’s all very positive, but that’s a different kind of leadership,” he says.
“In a crisis, you have to lead from the top; you have to be there and demonstrate confidence so they can trust you. At the moment, I’m leading from the back, making sure everyone’s going in the right direction.
“Leadership is about adjusting to the situation and the people you deal with.”
Originally a mechanical engineer himself, Wagner says he loves being a part of such a high-tech industry.
“There’s nothing better,” he says. “We’re at the leading edge of technology and not on a small scale. Two of the most modern aircraft engines are here in our shop.
“Technology and people are such a fascinating combination and it’s why I love this business so much. It couldn’t be better.”
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