Rolls-Royce PLC has appointed John Kelly to the role of President – Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META), with immediate effect. Previously Kelly spent six years as Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for the firm’s Civil Aerospace business.  Kelly started his career with Rolls-Royce in 2001, joining as a graduate trainee in the Defence business, where he rose to become a senior manager before joining Civil Aerospace. 

In his new role, Kelly will assume group-wide leadership and representation across the META region for engagement with senior stakeholders in government and industry. 

Görkem Kırış Gümüşel, Rolls- Royce’s Country Director for Türkiye and Central Asia, will be reporting to John moving forward.  Rolls-Royce employs over 300 specialists in the Middle East, including those engaged in engineering and technical roles supporting commercial aviation, industrial and defence customers. It has had a substantial presence in the region for more than 50 years.

John Kelly said: “My vision is to ensure Rolls-Royce builds on the solid foundations it has established across the META region and for each of our business units. While we are renowned for excellence in civil aerospace, we will leverage opportunities for all the Rolls-Royce businesses, providing solutions for the region’s major infrastructure projects and industrial customers. Our technology can play a fundamental role in enabling the transition to a low carbon global economy.”

With bold ambitions for the future, Kelly is committed to growing partnerships across META which reflect Rolls-Royce’s core engineering and technological innovations. As the region looks towards COP28, set for Dubai later this year, these are anticipated to increasingly focus on sustainable aviation, decarbonisation solutions and the energy transition, all of which are embodied in Rolls-Royce’s net zero commitments.