MonTREAL Bombardier has appointed a German executive with rail and aerospace experience to replac Andre Navarri as president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Transportation, its Berlin-based railway division.

Lutz Bertling, 50, who was seleced following a global search, takes over the post on June 3.

The nearly 60-year-old Navarri will become strategic adviser to CEO Pierre Beaudoin for a year until he retires from the company. The native of France joined Bombardier in 2004 as president and became chief operating officer of the transportation division four years later.

Bombardier spokeswoman Isabelle Rondeau said Navarri notified the company a year ago that he planned to retire.

Bertling joins Bombardier after heading the Eurocopter Group, a subsidiary of EADS, which also makes Airbus planes. He joined EADS military aircraft business unit in 1999.

He worked between 1993 and 1999 at Adtranz, which Bombardier purchased from DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems GmbH in 2001. He earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1992.

Beaudoin said in a news release that Bertling has a proven track record of managing complexity in organizations with global workforces.

His wealth of experience and achievements in the transportation and defence industries will reinforce Bombardier Transportations leadership position, said he stated.

He also credited Navarri for playing an instrumental role in Bombardier Transportations transformation.

His leadership and stewardship have helped us shape the evolution of mobility and turned Bombardier Transportation into an acknowledged global leader in rail technology.