 Spagnolini was chief executive officer of AgustaWestland from 2004 to 2007 and chief operating officer from 2007 to 2011.He became its chief executive in May 2011 when Giuseppe Orsi, the previous holder of that position, was promoted to chairman of Finmeccanica.In a June 2011 interview, given shortly after his promotion to CEO, Spagnolini said that AgustaWestland had “always pursued a three-legged strategy based on an evolving product range, enlarging its network of service and training facilities as well as establishing strategic partnerships around the world to pursue market opportunities.” He said that development of the AW169 was “progressing as planned” and that “the rotors, blades, engines, avionics, transmission and electric power generation and distribution systems” all incorporated new technologies.