EMEA appointment highlights of the month – June 2019

3 July, 2019

The travel, tourism and aviation industries in the EMEA region witness policy and upper level changes on a daily basis. It is important to not only keep tabs of these organisations direction, but to also monitor changes in executive branches to see the wider picture of the travel market. The Blue Swan Daily will keep you informed of these movements each month, with a full wrap of the key changes in the EMEA market, while also looking forward to key appointments announced for the last month.

Here are the key executive changes for June 2019;

  • South African Airways appointed Ms Zuks Ramasia as acting CEO, replacing Vuyani Jarana, effective 10-Jun-2019;
  • Zimbabwe President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa appointed Anthony Patrick Chinamasa as Air Zimbabwe board chairman, effective Jun-2019;
  • Chair Airlines, formerly known as Germania Flug AG, appointed Anri Fontanive and Shpend Ibrahimi as CFO and CIO, respectively;
  • Tassili Airlines appointed Adil Cherouati as chairman and CEO, effective 10-Jun-2019;
  • Connect Airways appointed Mark Anderson as CEO on 12-Jun-2019. Mr Anderson joins Connect Airways from his current role as EVP customer at Virgin Atlantic. Connect Airways also confirmed Lucien Farrell as chairman of the newly formed consortium on 12-Jun-2019;
  • Virgin Atlantic appointed Corneel Koster as EVP customer, effective Aug-2019;
  • The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) appointed Steven Polmans as chairman, and Sanjeev Gadhia as vice chairman;
  • Etihad Aviation Group appointed Andrew Macfarlane as CFO. Mr Macfarlane succeeds Mark Powers who resigned in Apr-2019;
  • CANSO appointed Simon Hocquard as director general, effective 19-Jun-2019;
  • TAROM announced the appointment of Madalina Daniela Mezei as general manager in Jun-2019;
  • Finnair appointed Mika Stirkkinen as CFO and member of its executive board, effective 01-Jul-2019;
  • Nordica appointed Gunnar Kobin as CEO, effective 01-Sep-2019;
  • IAG appointed Iberia CEO Luis Gallego as LEVEL president, taking on both roles. LEVEL CEO Vincent Hodder will report to Mr Gallego.