Armin Papperger is not used to being in demand. The head of Germany’s largest listed defence contractor, Rheinmetall, has seen his industry sidelined to such an extent that as recently as last month companies could not get domestic banks to fund their activities.
But German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to inject €100bn into the country’s armed forces and boost defence spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made Papperger among the world’s most sought-after executives.
“Some months ago people wanted to ban us, to say that this industry is a very bad industry, is a harmful industry,” Papperger told the Financial Times. “It’s a totally different world now.”