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| Mr Steven Aliment Vice President Sales, Europe Bombardier Steven Aliment was appointed to his current position as Vice President Sales, Europe for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft in April 2009. Mr. Aliment leads Bombardier’s Commercial Aircraft Sales team’s activities in the European region for the Q400 NextGen, the CRJ700, CRJ900 and the CRJ1000 as well as Bombardier’s ultra-efficient 100% new mainline jet, the CSeries. Steve started his career at The Boeing Company in its Defense and Space division in the Marketing Department. He moved through several positions thereafter in Commercial Aircraft Communications, Boeing Technology Services Sales, Sea Launch Commercial Satellite Launch Systems Sales, and Commercial Aircraft Sales. Steven joined Bombardier from The Boeing Company in the spring of 2009 bringing with him this broad range of experience in marketing and selling commercial aircraft throughout Europe and around the world. Mr. Aliment holds a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound and is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. A native of Seattle, Washington, Mr. Aliment is based at Bombardier’s Commercial Aircraft Sales and Support office in Munich, Germany. | |
| Mr Nicolas Boutin Partner and Managing Director The Boston Consulting Group Nicolas Boutin is a Partner and Managing Director with the Moscow office of The Boston Consulting Group. He joined the firm in 2003 as a Consultant in Paris and transferred to Moscow in 2012. Nicolas Boutin is the BCG Worldwide Topic Leader for Airlines. He brings 20 years of experience in Aviation (Industry and Consulting) and has been working with a number of airlines (Network carriers, LCC, Cargo, regional) on several strategic, organizational and operational topics. Specifically, over the last 10 years, Nicolas Boutin has been advising airlines' CEOs and Top Executives in Europe on transforming their organizations to survive and succeed in increasingly challenging market conditions. Nicolas Boutin is also the global topic leader for Aerospace and Defense within BCG’s Industrial Goods practice area since 2008. Prior to joining BCG, Mr. Boutin worked for EADS (Airbus and ATR) for 6 years, first as Aircraft Performance Engineer before becoming the Area Sales Director for CIS and Eastern Europe. Nicolas holds a MSc. in Aerospace Engineering and is also trained as a professional pilot from the French Civil Aviation Academy.
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| Mr Giorgio Callegari Deputy General Director for Strategy and Alliances Aeroflot Born in 1959. Graduated from Turin Polytechnic University (Turin, Italy) with a degree in mining. Since 1986 till December 1989 worked as Sales Manager, was a member of the BoD and the executive committee in “Malan Viaggi” air company. Since 1990 till 2011 worked in “Alitalia” air company, where he rose from Sales Manager, Vice President for Sales, Vice President for Business Development, Vice President for Alliances, Business Development and Foreign Relations to Executive Vice President for Alliances and Strategies. Since 2011 has been working for JSC “Aeroflot”. | |
| Mr Ciro Andrade Camargo Head of Airline Alliances GOL Airlines Ciro Camargo is the Head of Alliances at GOL Airlines. After working in the oil and aerospace industries for eight years, Ciro joined GOL in 2007 to launch and manage the airline’s first partnerships. Graduated and post-graduated in Business Administration, he is also undertaking a doctorate in alliances and strategy. | |
| Mr Richard Castle Regional Director for Europe, Strategic Clients Sabre Airline Solutions In November 2013, Richard Castle was appointed Regional Director for Europe, Strategic Clients. Richard joined Sabre as Account Director, responsible for customers in the UK, in August 2005. In the following years, he expanded his portfolio to include customers across Europe. From 2011 until 2013, he was Regional Director for Russia and CIS. For 15 years prior, he worked for Swissair/Swiss International Air Lines in a variety of managerial positions in various locations around the world. His last role at SWISS was Vice President, e commerce & Sales Distribution, based at the head office in Zurich. Before that, he was Swiss International Air Lines’ General Manager for UK & Scandinavia (2002 – 2004). He built the 75 strong Sales & Marketing team from scratch after the collapse of Swissair, leading Corporate and Leisure Sales teams, Market Communication, Pricing and Revenue Management. At Swissair, Richard’s roles included Marketing Manager, UK & Ireland based in London, General Manager Arabian Gulf based in Dubai, and Sales & Marketing Manager for North Africa, Middle East and India, based in Brussels. Richard has degree from Durham University in the UK. | |
| Mr Michael Cawley Deputy CEO & COO Ryanair A Chartered Accountant, Michael Cawley has worked in a number of different industries including distribution and manufacturing. He led a management buy-out in Athlone Extrusions in 1991 and prior to joining Ryanair he was the Finance Director of the Gowan Group, one of Ireland’s largest private companies. Since joining Ryanair in Feb-1997 he was centrally involved in the IPO of the company in May of that year, assumed the additional responsibilities as Commercial Director in Sep-1997 and has also seen the company secure a listing on the London Stock Exchange in Jun-1998. In Feb-2003 Michael was appointed Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Chief Executive. Since 1997 Ryanair’s route network has increased from 12 routes to over 1,600 and its passenger numbers from 3 million to an expected 81.5 million in the current fiscal year. A native of Cork he is married with four children. | |
| Mr Cuong Viet Chu Member Board of Management VietJet Air The member of Board of Managment, Mr. Chu Viet Cuong is a senior expert in the banking and finance field. His domestic experience is strengthened by two years of working abroad at the Southeast Asian Strategy Institute in Singapore, which was established by the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Mr. Cuong also held multiple key positions at large corporations: he worked at Marubeni (a leading Japanese corporation), was the director of ANZ Bank Vietnam, and was the general director of the joint-venture GPS between BNP Paribas Bank and Prévoir Vietnam. Most recently, Mr. Cuong was a member of Prudential Vietnam's management board | |
| Mr Tim Clark President Emirates Tim Clark has been in the civil aviation business for his whole professional career, having joined British Caledonian in 1972. In 1975 he moved to Gulf Air in Bahrain and subsequently in 1985 to Dubai where he became a member of the founding team of Emirates as Head of Airline Planning. He is now the President of Emirates Airline, one of the world's fastest growing airlines, which currently serves more than 133 cities in 77 countries with a fleet of nearly 200 wide-bodied aircraft. The airline has an aircraft order back log of 196 units valued at over USD71 billion at list prices which includes the largest order of A380s with 90 units, the first of which was delivered in July 2008. Emirates, winner of more than 500 international awards for product and service excellence, is on strong trajectory to become a top 100 global lifestyle brand. The airline is gaining momentum having been named the world's Most Valuable Airline Brand according to the 2013 Brand Finance Global 500 study as well as being designated as one of the most iconic airline brands by the Taylor Nelson Sofres Iconicity index. Between Apr-1998 and Mar-2008 he was also the Managing Director of Sri Lankan Airlines, the latter position resulted from Emirates' acquisition in Apr-1998 of a major stake in the airline with full management control. He holds a degree in Economics from London University and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Middlesex. In Nov-2009 he was conferred an “Officier de la Legion d’Honneur” by the French government for services to transport and aviation and holds the 2009 Gold Award from the Royal Aeronautical Society for contribution to civil aerospace. In addition, he holds the 2011 Airline Business and Flight Global Achievement Awards. | |
| Mr Alex Cruz CEO Vueling Alex began his professional career at American Airlines working in Dallas improving American's ground operations at its hub airports.The last five years of his 10-year AMR career were in London, delivering solutions to European airlines within The Sabre Group. From 2000 to 2006, he was a partner at Arthur D. Little and later in Accenture as its head of aviation.As a consultant, Alex has directed projects with airlines and travel industry companies around the world. In 2006 he founded Clickair. As CEO, Alex drove Barcelona-based Clickair through a period of spectacular growth, culminating in the 2009 merger with Vueling, turning the new Vueling into the biggest airline operator in Spain (2013, flights, passengers), and into one of the most profitable airlines in Europe.Today, Vueling is part of the IAG Group and flies 16m annual passengers over 200 routes at 70 European airports with a fleet of 70 planes. Alex is from Bilbao in Spain, has a BS (Central Michigan) and MSc degrees (Ohio State) in industrial engineering from. Later he studied an MSc at the Ohio State University, and Business Management and Administration at the Cox School of Business in Dallas. Alex has lived in Spain, Panama, USA and London. | |
| Mr Jim Davidson CEO Farelogix Since his appointment as Farelogix President and CEO in January 2005, Jim Davidson has transformed the company’s vision and product offerings to focus on broader opportunities within travel distribution technology. Under his leadership, Farelogix solutions are in production on six continents and the company has transformed into a true global force in travel. A passionate thought leader on topics such as travel distribution, direct connect, merchandising and ancillary revenue, Jim was named one of the 25 Most Influential Executives in the Business Travel Industry byBusiness Travel News. Prior to Farelogix, Jim held a series of senior positions in supply chain and travel distribution management, including president and CEO of NTE; and president and CEO of Amadeus Global Travel, North America. He holds a BA in Business Management, a Masters of Science in Education and an MBA. | |
| Mr Tony Davis Partner Irelandia Aviation/VivaColombia Tony joined the Irelandia Aviation team in 2011. He has over 25 years of airline management experience including being CEO of Tiger Airways from 2005-2011 and conducting the successful IPO in 2010. Tony’s prior experience includes BMI Baby, BA and Gulf Air. | |
| Mr Alexandre De Gunten Advisor to the Executive Committee ALTA Alex de Gunten is the Business Development Officer (BDO) of HEICO´s Flight Support Group (FSG) and is responsible for strengthening HEICO's relationships with the leading global airlines. He and his team help drive the expansion of HEICO´s product offerings, solutions, and services to the airline industry. HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, FL-based FSG and its Miami, FL-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO's customers include a majority of the world's airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers. In his prior position as ALTA´s Executive Director from 2003-2013, Alex guided over 40 member airlines on safety, governmental, regulatory, financial and operational issues in aviation in the Latin America and Caribbean regions. Alex remains as Advisor to the Executive Committee of ALTA. Previously, Alex served as Managing Director International of Orbitz, CEO of RepWorld Holdings, Vice President International LanChile Airlines (today LATAM), and Director General for Latin America for Canadian Airlines International (now part of Air Canada). Alex de Gunten is the recipient of the GMAA Juan Trippe Award 2012, and co-recipient of the FSF-Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award 2012. Fluent in English, Spanish and French, de Gunten has a Master’s in Business Administration with a major in International Business at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Quebec, Canada. | |
| Professor Rigas Doganis Chairman European Aviation Club Prof. Rigas Doganis has acted as aviation consultant and strategy adviser to numerous airlines, airports, banks and governments around the world. He is currently a non-executive director of easyJet, Europe’s second largest low-cost airline, and was previously a non-executive director of South African Airways. He sits on the Board of Hyderabad Airport in India and is Chairman of the European Aviation Club in Brussels. Prof. Doganis served as Chairman and CEO of Olympic Airways in Athens from February 1995 to April 1996 and successfully implemented a major restructuring programme which produced Olympic’s first profit in 18 years. He set up and headed the Department of Air Transport at Cranfield University (UK) from 1991 until 1997 and established it as the pre-eminent academic centre in Europe for post-graduate teaching and research in air transport. He is now a Visiting Professor at Cranfield. From 1976 until 1992 he was Visiting Professor in Airline Management at the Asian School of Management in Manila. Prof. Doganis is a well-known author in the field of aviation economics. A new enlarged fourth editionFlying Off Course: Airline Economics and Marketingwas published in January 2010. This has become the basic text in its field. He is also the author ofThe Airline Business. He wrote one of the very first books on airport management entitledThe Airport Business. Japanese, Spanish and Chinese language editions of these books have been published. | |
| Mr Pieter Elbers Chief Operating Officer & Deputy CEO KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Pieter J.Th. Elbers is Chief Operating Officer (COO) and deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the Executive Board (4) of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is also a member of the Executive Committee (14) of the Air France KLM Group. Since July, 1st 2013 his primary responsibility is to manage KLM's Passenger Business with € 6.6 billion of revenues, 25 million passengers per year, 160 aircraft, 650 flights per day to 131 international destinations and 20,000 staff. Defining and implementing KLM's strategic fleet development, KLM's mainport strategy and enhancing alliances (ca. 45) with Joint Venture partners (Alitalia, China Southern, Delta, Kenya Airways and Ukraine International), Skyteam partners & other airlines complete his portfolio. After he served as an officer at the Royal Navy, Pieter Elbers started his career at KLM in 1992. Till 1999 he worked in several functions, both in operations as well as in business economics. Between 1999 and 2004 Pieter Elbers was as a General Manager responsible for KLM's Passenger Sales in various geographical areas. During these five years he was based in successively Milan, Athens and Tokyo. In 2005 Pieter returned to The Netherlands where he was appointed Vice President Network Planning (2005), Senior Vice President Network (2006) and Senior Vice President Network & Alliances (2009). As Senior Vice President Network (& Alliances) he was responsible for the design and further development of KLM's worldwide route network. In the core this is about creating an extensive portfolio of destinations with attractive connections via Schiphol airport, whilst optimally allocating scarce assets (especially fleet) to maximize profitability. In 2011 he became -as COO- responsible to manage KLM's day-to-day operations. Furthermore Pieter Elbers is also Member of the Supervisory Board of - Kenya Airways Ltd. (KLM holds 26% of the stakes) - Marfo B.V. (delivering fresh frozen quality food) - Transavia Airlines B.V. (the low cost & charter operator of the KLM Group Pieter Elbers was born in 1970 in Schiedam, The Netherlands. Pieter holds a master's degree in Business Economics (University of Amsterdam) and a bachelor's degree in Logistics Management (Traffic Academy of Venlo). Furthermore he completed international business programs at IMD (Lausanne), Columbia (New York) and Tsinghua (Beijing). Pieter is married and has three children. | |
| Mr Fernando Estrada Chief Strategy and Networks Officer Vueling Currently holds the position of Strategy, Alliance and Business Development Director at Vueling Airlines, where reporting to the CEO, is responsible for business planning, strategy, alliances and corporate development. Prior to that held responsibilities in network planning, airport planning and slots at Vueling Airlines and led the team responsible of the merger between Vueling and clickair where he enrolled in 2007. Before working for the airline industry, Fernando made a full range of strategy consulting work for 7 years in more than 8 countries. Fernando has a BS degree in Telecommunication Engineering and a Master at IESE Business School. | |
| Mr Filip Filipov Head of B2B Skyscanner Filip joined Skyscanner in July 2013 to work on a number of strategic initiatives and recently became Head of the B2B team. Filip and his team are responsible for defining and building products for travel industry players such as powerful APIs, data analytics and industry insights. Filip previously held a variety of senior management positions in a wide range of industries and areas. He started his career at the United Nations in Santiago, where he was responsible for the assessment of post-conflict peace and delivery of strategies for state recovery. Following this, he worked as a consultant in New York and London on strategy and supply chain management projects, before moving into the travel industry, where he held a number of roles including Deputy COO at a travel start-up company Everbread Limited. Prior to joining Skyscanner, he worked as an associate for Travel Capitalist Ventures, evaluating and vetting early stage investment opportunities and advising on strategy, marketing and operation of the travel companies in the firm´s portfolio. Filip holds a BA in Government (Honors) from Harvard College and an MBA from INSEAD. | |
| Mr Peter Foster President Air Astana Peter Foster entered the airline industry immediately after graduating from Cambridge University in 1982, as a management trainee of John Swire and Sons (HK) Ltd, the owners of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. From 1982-1999 he served in a variety of management and senior management positions with CPA in Hong Kong, Asia, Australia and Europe, and underwent business management training at INSEAD, France. Mr Foster left Cathay Pacific Airways in 1999 to head up the rehabilitation team of Philippine Airlines Inc. He subsequently served as Chief Executive Officer of Royal Brunei Airlines from 2002 to 2005 prior to his appointment as President of Air Astana. | |
| Mr Martin Gauss CEO Air Baltic | |
| Mr Tamur Goudarzi Pour Director Network Planning Hub Munich Deutsche Lufthansa AG Since November 2010 Tamur Goudarzi Pour is Director for Network Planning Hub Munich and Intercont Düsseldorf of Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. His studies of International Relations and International Economics led him to the Universities of Muenster and Cambridge/UK. After having entered Lufthansa on a fast-track trainee program, Tamur Goudarzi Pour was promoted in November 2000 to become Senior Manager Alliances and Cooperations at Lufthansa's Area Management Africa, Middle East and Southeast Europe, which is based in Dubai. In 2003 he moved to Tehran to become General Manager Iran. In 2007, Tamur Goudarzi Pour was promoted to become Director for Central and Eastern Europe. Being based in Budapest, he covered an area of 15 countries in the region and represented the Lufthansa Group Airlines: Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. After moving to Munich, and in addition to his current Job, in 2012 Tamur Goudarzi Pour has been appointed Liaison Officer to the CFO and Executive Board for Munich for the restructuring program SCORE, which aims to improve the operating profit of Lufthansa Group by 1.5 Bio. Euro in 2015. | |
| Mr Andrew Herdman Director General Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Andrew Herdman has held the position of Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) since 2004. In this role he is committed to expanding the role of the Association as the leading trade organization for international airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region, addressing a wide range of both regional and global policy issues affecting the industry. AAPA works closely with regulators and other industry associations with the aim of fostering the sustainable growth of international civil aviation. Prior to joining the AAPA, Andrew held a number of senior positions with the Swire Group, the parent company of Cathay Pacific Airways, with other diverse interests in aviation, property, beverages, marine services, trading and industrial sectors, predominantly based in the Greater China region, as Director Corporate Affairs at Swire Pacific and a Director of the parent holding company, John Swire & Sons. Mr. Herdman spent much of his earlier career in a variety of senior aviation-related roles with Cathay Pacific Airways and its associated companies, including: Managing Director, Cathay Pacific Catering Services, Managing Director of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd (HAECO), Chairman of Xiamen-based TAECO; Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo; Director and General Manager of ABACUS, and a board member of Worldspan. Mr. Herdman is a graduate of Oxford University, with BA (Hons) and a post-graduate BPhil in management studies. Married with two daughters, he also enjoys tennis, sailing and hiking. | |
| Mr Ian Heywood Head of Global Supplier Strategy Travelport Ian has spent the majority of his working life at British Airways where he joined as an apprentice and held a number of commercial roles in the UK and overseas before moving to Hong Kong to take up the role of Area Sales Manager Far East. Ian then moved to Singapore to lead the integration of the British Airways and Qantas Sales and Marketing teams in South East Asia. Following the successful completion of this task he then returned to the UK where he held numerous positions including Head of Corporate Sales and Head of Consumer and Agency Sales. After leaving BA in 2006, Ian carried out some consultancy work before joining Qatar Airways as SVP Global Sales and Distribution in 2007. Late 2009 Ian returned back to the UK to run various consultancy projects until 2011 when Ian joined Travelport as Head of Global Supplier Strategy. In this role his key focus is to ensure that Travelport offers a consistent global approach to airlines worldwide that enables them to maximize their yields and increase revenue streams through the GDS channel. To further strengthen airline relationships and help enhance long term, mutually beneficial partnerships that enable airline customers to distribute their flights and merchandising content in a way that works for their key businesses and other key industry stakeholders. This has led to the launch of the Travelport Merchandising Platform with 'Aggregated Shopping' 'Ancillary Services' and 'Rich Content' which enables airlines to adapt their business models to whatever competitive/ economic environment they operate in and for travel agents to access enhanced airline content in their normal workflow. | |
| Mr Con Korfiatis Partner Heidrick & Struggles Con is a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, in its Industrial Practice focusing on the Airlines, Aviation, Defence & Aerospace sector in Asia. Whilst based in Heidrick & Struggles Singapore office, he will also soon lead the company’s entry into the emerging Indonesia market. Con is an airline and aviation executive with over 20 years experience gained in a number of senior roles and airlines. Airline experience covers executive management, finance, strategy, commercial, brand and marketing, network, government affairs, alliances and airline operations. This experience has been across a number of Asia Pacific countries. Experience in some of the region's most successful airlines including Qantas and Singapore Airlines and responsible for the establishment of Jetstar Asia as its founding CEO. Other previous management experience at both COO and CEO level, the latter at Citilink, Garuda Indonesia’s low cost airline and at Viva Macau Airlines. Prior to joining Heidrick &Struggles working as a Senior Partner in a consulting firm, Flight Ideas Consulting, doing Board and Senior Management level advisory on best practice, growth, improvement and funding strategies for airlines, as well as being taking on management responsibility in implementing these strategies. | |
| Mr Eric Léopold Director, Transformation IATA Eric Léopold joined IATA in 2005. Based in the Executive Offices in Geneva, Eric is the Director, Passenger. His team manages 200+ industry standards in Ticketing, Reservations, Messaging, Scheduling, Passenger and Baggage Handling; leads four Simplifying the Business projects representing billions of dollars in annual savings for the airline industry; and runs a portfolio of industry services, including the IATA codes and tariffs. Prior to this role, Mr Léopold was project manager, e-travel, covering ancillary services and mobile boarding passes. Prior to joining IATA, Mr Léopold held various management positions in France and in the US, in the information technology and publishing industries. Born in France, Eric Léopold holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Supelec and Georgia Tech and an MBA from ESSEC.
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| Mr Antonio Menezes CEO SATA Airlines Group I was born in the Azores, an Autonomous Region of Portugal, an archipelago of 9 islands, in 1972. In 1990, I left to Lisbon, for my BA in Economics, at the New University of Lisbon. In 1994, I studied at the Gothenburg University, in Sweden. In 1995 I went to Boston for my MA in Economics (1997) and my PhD in Economics (2000) at Boston College. I thoroughly enjoyed the high-paced and utmost professional American life in the competitive environment of world class institutions such as Boston College and Harvard University where I researched and taught. In 2000, holding a PhD at the young age of 27, I moved to Italy. I took a post-doctoral research position at a leading economics research foundation in Italy, at Bocconi University, in a pan-European research network sponsored by the European Commission. I moved back to the Azores in 2001 for family related reasons. In the Azores, in 2001, I kept an academic job at the University of the Azores. I published several scientific papers in scientific journals with peer-reviewing (still publish). I became a board member in the hospitality sector and worked as a business consultant (business plans and securing financing for capital intensive projects). In 2005, I was invited by the Azorean Government to become a board member of the back then newly established Azorean Agency to Promote Investment (APIA). In 2007, I was invited to become Chairman and CEO of SATA Airlines Group (SATA), the largest and the most important company in the Azores, which as an ultra-peripheral archipelago relies heavily on air transportation. I have not only been SATA's CEO, but also its CFO, CIO, Accountable Manager, with a hands-on, daily participation on the commercial side of the business. | |
| Mr Peter Mohn Partner M1nd-set Dr. Peter Mohn is working in Marketing Intelligence since graduating in Business Psychology at the University of Göttingen (Germany) in 1993. He completed his Ph.D. at the "Institut für Wirtschafts- und Sozialforschung" in Göttingen in 1997. Peter has worked for various Global Market Research & Consulting companies (e.g. Gallup, TNS) in 5 countries, and has been in top management positions (CEO, Board of Directors, Partner) since 2000. Peter co-created his own company m1nd-set 2007. He is since then Partner and Head of Business Development at m1nd-set. m1nd-set - based in Vevey, Switzerland - is a full service marketing intelligence & consulting company, specializing in Travel Research. m1nd-set is worldwide leading in the area of Airline Satisfaction research (Airs@t) and Travel Retail research & consulting. Peter is frequently invited to speak at key industry events in Europe, Middle East and Asia, as well as in North and South America. | |
| Mr Christoph Mueller CEO Aer Lingus Christoph Mueller joined Aer Lingus as its Chief Executive Officer in September 2009. Since taking on the role, he has implemented a return to sustainable profitability in Aer Lingus, brought about by the successful execution of a cost savings programme and the refocus of the airlines strategy as a value carrier. Christoph has extensive experience within the aviation industry, having previously held the positions of Executive Aviation Director at TUI Travel plc., Chief Financial Officer of DHL Worldwide, and member of the Executive Committee of Deutsche Post AG. He has also held senior positions in Daimler Benz Aerospace, been Executive Vice President at Lufthansa AG and Chief Executive Officer of the Sabena Group.In January 2012 Christoph was appointed to the Board of Tourism Ireland.In June 2013 he was appointed Chairman of An Post.He has an MBA from the University of Cologne and subsequently completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. | |
| Mr Jos Nijhuis President & CEO Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Having joined Schiphol Group as a Board member in 2008, Jos A. Nijhuis (56) was appointed President & CEO from 1 January 2009 and re-appointed per 2012. He is also non-Executive Director of Aéroports de Paris. Jos Nijhuis started his career as an accountant and worked for many years (1980-2008) at PricewaterhouseCoopers in various management capacities, most recently as Chairman of the Board of Management. Jos Nijhuis is a member of the ACI Europe Board and the Executive Committee. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of SNS Reaal and is also active in the social sector as a board member of Stichting Het Muziektheater Amsterdam. | |
| Mrs Christine Ourmières CEO CityJet Ms Ourmières began her career in aviation over 20 years ago at Air France where she held a variety of key management positions. In the early 1990s, she held the position of Commercial Director of France, for Air France's Global Distribution System, Amadeus. From 1998 to 2001 she took on the role of Vice President of Air France Global Sales and her success in this role led to her promotion to Vice President of International Sales in 2002. In 2005, Christine was promoted to General Manager, Air France-KLM, UK and Ireland, a post she held for 3 years and where she oversaw increases in sales, year on year passenger growth and UK market share growth. Following her success in the UK market, in 2008 Christine became the first ever Vice President-General Manager of Air France-KLM, USA, before moving to her current position of CEO of CityJet in September 2010 - to become the first female CEO of an Irish licensed airline – 1 out of 15 female CEOs of commercials airlines (out of 200). In her position as CEO, Christine is responsible for the entire operations of the company, including network, distribution, finance, marketing and communications, quality assurance and airport operations to name a few. Since taking over her position, she has undertaken a number of cost-cutting measures which have markedly turned the finances around for the loss-making airline. Notably, she has introduced an aircraft utilisation programme which has seen the introduction of a number of new destinations to the airline's network which has expanded to serve 21 destinations across Europe whilst ensuring schedules meet the needs of CityJet's niche business audience. Currently, she is spearheading projects across the company to introduce the airline’s own operating code in order for the company to be more independent and dynamic – both commercially and operationally. Ms. Ourmières holds a Master of Aeronautics degree from the Ecole National Supérieure d’Ingénieurs and an MBA from Essec Business School. | |
| Mr Edmond Rose Director, Airline Planning Virgin Atlantic Airways Edmond Rose is Director of Airline Planning at Virgin Atlantic,responsible for fleet and network planning, pricing, revenue management,commercial systems, alliances and business development. Edmond spent 11 years as a British diplomat and, after two years studying Mandarin, had postings in India and China. He joined Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1998 to work on regulatory matters. After spells of time with British Airways and as a consultant offering strategic advice to airports, low cost carriers and investors, he returned to Virgin Atlantic in 2005 and took up his current role in 2008. He sponsored the introduction of the A330 at Virgin Atlantic and is sponsor for Virgin’s 787 programme. Edmond led the successful planning and launch of Little Red, Virgin Atlantic’s new domestic flying. | |
| Mr Vitaly Saveliev Director General & CEO Aeroflot Born in 1954. In 1977 he graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in 1986 — Engineering-Economics Institute after Palmiro Togliatti. From 1985 to 1987 — Vice-Governor of the All-Union Trust «Sevzapmetallurgmontazh». Since 1987 he worked as Deputy Chief of the construction of engineering structures Leningrad «Glavleningradinzhstroy». From 1990 to 1993 — President of the Soviet-American enterprise «DialogInvest». From 1993 to 1995 — Chairman of board of bank «Russia». Since November 1995 — Chairman of the Board of Bank «Menatep SPb», September 2001 — Deputy Chairman of OJSC «Gazprom». From 2002 to 2004 — Vice-President of the combined company «GROS», Finance Advisor of General Director of «Svyazinvest». From 2004 to 2007 — Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. From 2007 to April 2009 — First Vice-President of Farm Credit Administration «Sistema». Since April 10, 2009 he is Director General & CEOJSC “Aeroflot – Russian Airlines” | |
| Mr Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus Managing Director Aviation Strategy & Concepts Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus was born in Australia, raised in the United Kingdom and finished his school education in Paris, France. He likes to describe himself as an “Australian-born international European”. Ulrich studied law in Freiburg, Germany, and after graduation in 1980, began as political liaison officer at Lufthansa German Airlines in Cologne in 1981. Ulrich coordinated the political activities of former Secretary of State and then CEO Heinz Ruhnau in Brussels and Strasburg. After assuming diverse management functions in the airline in such areas as HR and marketing, Ulrich was appointed Vice President Government Affairs in 1992, and as such was deeply involved in the privatization of the airline as of 1993. Ulrich secured Lufthansa’s interests in the negotiations of an Open Sky between the USA and Germany and subsequently the anti-trust approval for the airline’s alliances with United Airlines and SAS. In September 2002, Ulrich was unanimously elected as Secretary General of the then 28 airline member strong Association of European Airlines, based in Brussels. He represented the interests of his members publicly and politically, and coordinated efforts of the European airline sector to contribute to a European regulatory framework for the entire aviation value chain. This led to an intense exchange between the association and the EU institutions, notably the European Commission, culminating in several regulatory proposals in areas such as aviation security, safety, infrastructure and environment. Ulrich was also involved in the negotiations of a comprehensive EU-US Aviation Agreement. After 10 years, Ulrich left the then 36 airline member strong association in September 2012 and founded his own firm “Aviation Strategy & Concepts”, based in Brussels. His firm, which he likes to call a “networking agency” offers airlines, airports, EU institutions, NGOs and partner firms a platform to establish contacts and develop new solutions. Ulrich has two children, Felix aged 19 and Julia, 17. He enjoys skiing, jogging, chess and reading. | |
| Mr Mark Schwab CEO Star Alliance Services GmbH Mark Schwab is Chief Executive Officer of Star Alliance Services GmbH. He and his team coordinate the development and strategies of the world’s first and most experienced global airline alliance from its base in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Seen today as a role model for the civil aviation industry the Alliance was founded in 1997, with the aim of offering worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. By working together closely in Star Alliance, its member airlines are able to create and enhance products and services which cater to the needs of international travelers, as well as to develop joint IT solutions and to exploit the synergies that such large-scale, global collaboration can generate. Prior to assuming his role at Star Alliance in January 2012, Mark Schwab held numerous positions in the airline industry at United Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines. Most recently he was responsible for alliance activities at Star Alliance member airline United, where he was Senior Vice President Alliances. In this role he also served on the Management Board of the Star Alliance organisation. Mark Schwab began his aviation career in 1975 with Pan American World Airways in Rio de Janeiro and went on to head organisations in Latin America, Europe and Asia. He spent most of his career outside his home country, the United States of America. Mark Schwab has a degree in Latin American Affairs from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese. He is married with two daughters. | |
| Mr Derek Sharp Group Vice President & Managing Director Travelport Derek Sharp has global responsibility for all of Travelport’s commercial relationships with airlines, rail and rental car companies.In this role, he leads a worldwide team of sales and business development experts focused on growing Travelport’s revenue by expanding and improving upon the company’s value proposition to the supplier community.In addition to his supplier role, Mr. Sharp also manages Travelport’s airline IT solutions business, which delivers hosting and IT solutions to airlines around the world. Mr. Sharp joined Travelport in 2010 from EDS/HP where he held numerous senior roles in the US, Europe and Asia in strategic sales, corporate development and major account management. Prior to EDS/HP, Mr. Sharp worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company and as an international account executive with United Parcel Services (UPS).He holds a BA in Political Science from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Mr. Sharp lives in Flower Mound, Texas, with his wife, Missy, and their three children. | |
| Mr Abdul Wahab Teffaha Secretary General Arab Air Carriers Organisation After his post-graduate studies in Socio - Economic Development & Political Sociology, Mr. Teffaha joined AACO as an assistant tariff analyst and rose up in the ranks until becoming Assistant Secretary General in 1992. He was elected Secretary General of the Association in June 1996 and still serves in this capacity. Mr. Teffaha played a key role in developing a new strategy for AACO based on delivering specific measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound results to AACO member Airlines. Joint Projects were quickly launched and include to date Fuel Project, Ground Handling, Joint Market Intelligence, the establishment of Regional Training Center and Global Distribution Agreements covering almost all the markets of the region and MRO Cooperation. | |
| Mr Mattijs ten Brink Managing Director - Chairman Transavia
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| Mr Tewolde GebreMariam Tesfay CEO Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1985 as Transportation Agent at Addis Ababa Airport. He progressed through the ladder to Manager Cargo Traffic Handling. In 1995, he was appointed as Regional Director for India and South East Asia based in Bombay. He was later transferred to Jeddah as Area Manager for Saudi Arabia. When Ethiopian commenced direct services to the USA in 1998, he was appointed as Area Sales Manager for North East USA and Canada based in New York. In October 2000, he was appointed as Regional Director for the Americas. On August 16 2004 he was appointed as Executive Officer Marketing & Sales to head the Marketing and Sales Operations of Ethiopian. On July 1, 2006, he was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Ethiopian to head all the operating divisions of the airline Commercial, Flight Operations, Customer Services and Maintenance and Engineering. Since January 1, 2011 he has been serving as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. In his CEO role, Mr. Tewolde has been a triple award winner. In November, 2012, he won “The African CEO of the Year-2012” award from the African CEO Forum organized jointly by Jeune Afrique and the African Development Bank in Geneva. In December 2012, he won “The Best African Business Leader” award from the Washington D.C. based Corporate Council on Africa, which promotes trade and investment ties between the USA and Africa. In July 2013, he became the first African Airline CEO to receive “The Airline Strategy Award for Regional Leadership” in the award’s 12 year history. The Award is given out annually by Airline Business Magazine, a publication of Flight Global, the world’s leading aviation media brand. In addition to his duties as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, he also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA); and an Executive Committee member of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA); a Board member of Ethio Telecom; and a member of the Airlink Advisory Council. He earned his B.A. Degree in Economics from the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and his Masters Degree in Business Administration from the Open University in the United Kingdom. | |
| Mr Peter Van Fenema Adjunct Professor McGill University 1969 Law degree, Leiden University, The Netherlands (thesis on spacetele-communications) 1969 - 1971 Assistant Legal Advisor, Air Staff, Royal Netherlands Air Force 1971 - 1973 Post-graduate studies air and space law, McGill University (Institute of Air and Space Law), Montreal, Canada 1973 Master's (LL.M.) degree McGill University (thesis on the Space Liability Convention 1972) 1974 - 1997 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, government & industry affairs department 1990 - 1997KLM - Vice-president Government & Industry Affairs 1995 - Adjunct professor of law, McGill University, Institute of Air & Space Law 1999 Doctoral Degree, Leiden University, The Netherlands (thesis on US and international space-related export controls and policies' effects on the international trade in launch services) 2000 - Teacher, Consultant, Mediator, Moderator, Author, Editor - Air Transport Expert for Mediation/Dispute Resolution, ICAO, Montreal - Member, Board of Editors, Air & Space Law (bi-monthly, Kluwer Law International) - Member, European Air Law Association - Member, European Aviation Club, Brussels - Member, International Institute of Space Law - Member, European Centre for Space Law Consultancies on: -airline ownership & control (IATA 2000) -post - 2002 (ECJ 'Open Skies' judgment) national allocation of limited traffic rights (NL Government 2003) -EU 'horizontal agreements' & open skies - challenges & opportunities (Jordan 2005) -National aviation legislation - harmonization with EU rules in Syria (licensing), Egypt (ground handling), Jordan (ground handling), Israel (passenger rights) (EU Euromed Aviation Project 2008-2009) -EU - US cooperation on space-related applications and services, regulatory issues (Euroconsult 2009) -National aviation legislation - harmonization with EU rules in Egypt (passenger rights) (EU Euromed Aviation Project 2010/11) Teacher at: McGill University, JAA Training Organisation, Leiden University, Delft Technical University etc. Speaker at air and/or space law conferences in Macau, Abu Dhabi, Dar es Salaam, Taipei, Montreal, Vienna, Shanghai, Daejon etc. Chairman/Moderator of EU Government/Industry Aviation Dialogue (Netherlands EU Presidency - Amsterdam 2004; Austrian Presidency - Vienna 2006; Slovenian Presidency - Vienna 2008) Observer for International Institute of Space Law (IISL) at annual sessions of UN-COPUOS Legal Subcommittee Author: see list of articles on air and space law and policy | |
| Mr Willie Walsh CEO International Airlines Group Willie Walsh became chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) in Jan- 2011, joining from British Airways where he was CEO from Oct-2005. IAG is the parent company of British Airways and Iberia. It is one of the world’s largest airline groups with 377 aircraft flying to 200 destinations and carrying more than 54 million passengers each year. In Apr-2012, IAG purchased British airline bmi which was integrated into British Airways. At BA, Mr Walsh guided the company to its first-ever 10% operating margin in 2007 and introduced permanent changes across the airline to bring it through the worst recession in aviation history in 2008/9. He secured the airline’s long-term strategic objective to establish a trans-Atlantic joint business with American Airlines and Iberia and set up the merger with Iberia that led to the formation of IAG. Prior to joining BA, he was CEO at Aer Lingus, a position he was appointed to in the aftermath of 9/11. Faced with bankruptcy and heavy losses, Mr Walsh radically restructured the airline and this culminated in it posting an €107 million profit in 2004, making Aer Lingus the most profitable state-owned airline in the western world. Born in Dublin in 1961, Mr Walsh joined Aer Lingus in 1979 as a cadet pilot and worked his way through the ranks to become a captain in 1990. He began his move to management in 1989 where he fulfilled various roles in the flight operations department. He completed a Master of Science in Management and Business Administration at Dublin’s Trinity College in 1992. His managerial skills led him to being appointed CEO of Futura, Aer Lingus’ Spanish charter airline, in 1998. He returned to Dublin with Aer Lingus in 2000 where he took up the role of COO and was subsequently appointed as CEO in Oct-2001. Mr Walsh is president of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is married with one daughter and enjoys all sports, especially football and golf. | |
| Mr Ed Winter CEO Fastjet Ed has over 40 years of airline experience spanning from the traditional full service model of BOAC/British Airways through to one of the most successful low cost airlines, easyJet. Ed started his aviation career as a pilot with BOAC. He held a number of senior management positions within British Airways including Chief Pilot and Head of Operations BA Regional, Chief Pilot London Gatwick and Chief Pilot Long haul Aircraft. He was a founder director and Chief Operating Officer of low cost airline Go, and grew the airline profitably to 28 aircraft. Following an MBO and the subsequent sale of Go to easyJet, Ed had the role of Integration Director whilst also acting as CEO of Go. Once the integration process at easyJet was complete, Ed served as Chief Operating Officer steering the company through a period of rapid and profitable expansion, opening new bases across Europe and introducing the Airbus aircraft. More recently, Ed served as Chief Executive Officer of NAS (National Air Services) in Saudi Arabia. | |
| Mr Michael Wisbrun CEO SkyTeam As head of the Management Team, Michael Wisbrun is responsible for implementing the strategic plan for the future as set forth by the SkyTeam Governing Board. Mr. Wisbrun joined SkyTeam from KLM, the airline he joined in 1978 after earning a Master’s degree in Engineering from the Delft University of Technology. His career of more than 30 years with the Dutch airline has spanned multiple departments, including Cargo, Corporate Strategy & Planning and Business Systems, where he was responsible for network development, fleet planning and schedule coordination, respectively. Before joining SkyTeam, he held the positions of Executive Vice President of KLM Cargo, Chairman of the AIR FRANCE KLM Cargo Joint Management Committee and was a member of the AIR FRANCE KLM Group Executive Committee. | |
