| Mr Marnix H Fruitema Senior Vice President North America Air France KLM Marnix H Fruitema, Senior Vice President North America, AIR FRANCE KLM. Graduate of Leiden University (The Netherlands) in International Law, he joined KLM in 1985. He has extensive experience in Sales and Distribution, Marketing, Pricing & Revenue Management, E-commerce, Sales and Service centers, Airport Operations and Strategical Partnerships. He was Senior Vice President AIR FRANCE KLM and Area Manager Asia and Pacific, prior to moving to the United States. He worked and lived in the Africa, Middle East, South America, the Dutch Caribbean and Europe. He is married and has four children. | |
| Captain Tim Canoll President Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) Captain Tim Canoll is the tenth president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), which represents more than 51,000 professional airline pilots in the United States and Canada, and is the largest non-governmental aviation safety organization in the world. He was elected by the union's Board of Directors on Oct. 22, 2014, and began his four-year term on Jan. 1, 2015. As ALPA's chief executive and administrative officer, Captain Canoll oversees daily operations of the Association and presides over the meetings of ALPA's governing bodies, which set policy for the organization. He is also the chief spokesman for the union, advancing pilots' views in the airline industry before Congress, Parliament, government agencies, airline and other business executives, and also the news media. Captain Canoll previously served as ALPA's executive administrator to the Association's ninth president, Captain Lee Moak. Captain Canoll's preceding ALPA offices include Delta LEC representative, MEC Strike Committee member, MEC Security coordinator, MEC Strategic Planning chairman, MEC Negotiating Committee member, MEC vice chairman, and MEC executive administrator. In addition, the tenth ALPA president served as ALPA's representative to the Unsecured Creditors Committee during Delta Air Lines' 2005 bankruptcy. Captain Canoll is a Delta MD-88 captain based in Atlanta, having also flown the B-727, L1011, and the B-767/757. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, class of 1982, and a former Navy Reserve F/A-18 Strike Fighter Squadron commanding officer. He retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve as a captain in 2008. | |
| Mr Tony Fernandes Group CEO AirAsia Tan Sri Dr. Tony Fernandes has a personal credo - "Believe the unbelievable. Dream the impossible. Never take no for an answer." He studied at Epsom College, UK, and the London School of Economics and qualified as an Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 1991. He became a Fellow Member in 1996. He was admitted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 2008. Tony has been the Group CEO of AirAsia since December 2001. Prior to AirAsia, he was the Financial Controller of Virgin Communications London before joining Warner Music International London in 1989. He was promoted to Managing Director, Warner Music Malaysia in 1992 and to Regional Managing Director, Warner Music South East Asia in 1996. In 1999, he became the Vice President of Warner Music South East Asia. Tony's many awards include: Honor of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 for services to promote commercial and educational links between the UK and Malaysia. In 2010, the French government had conferred on him the award of Officer of the Legion d'Honneur, the highest award that can be conferred on a non-French national. He was named as one of the world's 100 most creative people in business for 2011 by New York-based business magazine Fast Company, and awarded the Inaugural ‘Travel Business Leaders Award’ winner by CNBC. | |
| Mr Patrick Baudis Vice President Marketing Airbus Patrick Baudis was appointed Vice President of Marketing for the Americas in 2013. Since 2010 he was Vice President of Marketing for Latin America and the Caribbean region, based in Miami. Patrick is responsible for all marketing Airbus activities in the North and South America, including analytical support required during sales campaigns. Patrick joined Airbus Marketing in 1997 as Senior Analyst. In 2000, he became Marketing Director for Middle-East and North Africa, covering marketing activities and campaigns from Morocco to Indonesia. Patrick then created and developed the Market Development team within the Marketing department, focusing on campaign strategies and market trend analyses. From 2006, Patrick led the Airline Marketing department supervising teams throughout the world in charge of analytical and marketing support during sales campaigns. Before joining Airbus, Patrick was a Marketing Manager at an aviation consulting and brokerage company. Patrick holds a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the French National School of Aviation (ENAC) in Toulouse, France. Based in Miami, home of Airbus Latin America and Caribbean regional headquarters, Patrick is married and has three sons. In his spare time, Patrick’s interests range from skiing, running, discovering countries and cultures, to wine tasting. Patrick is a native French speaker, is bilingual in English and also speaks Spanish. | |
| Sharon Pinkerton SVP, Legislative & Regulatory Policy Airlines for America (A4A) Sharon Pinkerton was named senior vice president, legislative and regulatory policy for the Airlines for America (A4A) in February 2011, and leads policy development on legislative and regulatory matters, working with Capitol Hill and the administration. Ms. Pinkerton joined A4A as vice president, government affairs in April 2006, where she was responsible for overseeing all aviation-related issues before federal, state and local governments. Before joining A4A, she served as assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning and environment at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Prior to her appointment at FAA, Pinkerton was transportation counsel to House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) and served on Capitol Hill for nearly 10 years. She began her professional career at Price Waterhouse. A native of Vero Beach, Fla., Pinkerton received a Bachelor of Science degree from Cedarville College in Ohio, and earned a law degree from the University of Florida. Pinkerton is also a Certified Public Accountant. | |
| Mr Tetsuya Nozaki Member of Board Trustee AIRLINK Tetsuya "Ted" Nozaki began his career in aircraft leasing and financing in 1989 at ITOCHU Corporation in Tokyo. In 1996, he relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut, accepting an assignment at ITOCHU AirLease, Inc , a US subsidiary of ITOCHU, as General Manager. Ted joined Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) in 2002 to strengthen their aircraft leasing business. In 2004, MC Aircraft Management International Inc. (predecessor of MC Aviation Partners America Inc - MCAP) was established in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Ted accepted an assignment as General Manager. MCAP owns and manages more than 125 aircraft as of July 2014. Ted is currently the Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing at MCAM. Ted also has been helping Airlink, a non-profit organization, as a volunteer, from its inception in 2009. Airlink works with airlines worldwide to provide non-governmental organizations with passenger seats and cargo space for free or at discounted rates so that such non-governmental organizations can transport emergency rescue/medical personnel and humanitarian goods in case of natural and manmade disasters. Ted was appointed as a board of trustee of Airlink in 2013. Ted graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering (naval architecture). He is a certified rugby referee in California and runs fields over the weekend. Ted speaks English and Japanese fluently. Ted also can communicate in Spanish and Portuguese. Ted resides in Irvine, California with his wife, daughter, age 16, and son, age 14. | |
| Mr Tadashi Matsushita Vice President, Strategic Planning, The Americas All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA) Tadashi Matsushita has served ANA for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the aviation industry. After engaging in the core corporate management and operations of ANA, he challenged industry conventions and initiated the discussion for the corporate side on the Open Skies policy in Japan, in an effort to secure growth opportunities for the industry as well as protect consumer interests. He worked in concert with a Japanese think tank and managed activities within political circles and government agencies both in Japan and overseas from March 2005 to January 2008. He then served as Director of Strategic Planning, Asia Pacific where he played a significant role in establishing ANA’s strategic base in Hong Kong and expanding its business across Asia. Having successfully led the launch of Japan’s first budget airline, Peach Aviation, he assumed the position of Director, International Government Affairs in July 2011 and has been responsible for overseeing ANA’s government and regulatory affairs in the US. He now holds the additional portfolio of Vice President of Strategic Planning, The Americas and is simultaneously responsible for formulating and executing medium-term business plans in North America. His current endeavors in this role include leading the way to broadening ANA’s presence in North America, both by rethinking marketing strategies towards increased brand awareness and assimilating further into local communities. Matsushita received his B.A. in Economics from Kobe University and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He currently resides in Connecticut with his wife and three children. | |
| Ms Christina Cassotis CEO Allegheny County Airport Authority A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Christina Cassotis is an energetic and innovative industry leader. With more than 20 years of international experience in communications, aviation strategy and business development, Ms. Cassotis excels in managing partnerships and engaging stakeholders in support of major goals and initiatives. Ms. Cassotis began her career in commercial aviation working for the Massachusetts Port Authority which operates Boston Logan International Airport. She served as Deputy Director of Communications, leading strategy surrounding airport improvement projects including Massport’s controversial program to build a new runway. In 1999, she joined SH&E - a global commercial aviation consulting firm - advising airports worldwide on economic strategy, developing business plans and working with U.S. state departments of transportation on airport system planning. Most recently, she served as Managing Officer for Airport Services for ICF-SH&E, leading a global team of airport consultants in areas of competitiveness and business strategy for clients worldwide. Ms. Cassotis holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BA from the University of Massachusetts. A frequent speaker at aviation industry events worldwide on issues relating to airport planning, strategy, and competitiveness, she began her position as CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, in January 2015. Her goals are to increase air service, improve efficiencies and advance both airports as regional economic development assets. | |
| Jude Bricker Senior Vice President Planning Allegiant Travel Company Jude Bricker has been Senior Vice President of Planning at Allegiant Travel Company since April 30, 2012, its Treasurer since 2010 and serves as its Secretary. Mr. Bricker served as Vice President of Corporate Finance of Allegiant Travel Company. He joined Allegiant in May 2006. Prior to joining Allegiant, he served in various positions with American Airlines and the US Marine Corps. He holds a master’s in business administration from the University of Texas. | |
| Bob Coffman Chairman, Government Affairs Allied Pilots Association Robert (Bob) Coffman was appointed Spring 2008 as Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of the Allied Pilots Association (APA), and consults with their Scope, Industrial Relations and International Alliance Committees. APA is the collective bargaining agent for the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines (NYSE:AAL).He is also the Director of Government Affairs for the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association.Bob additionally functions as a member of the US Delegation for Air Services Agreements, comprised of members from the Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, other US Government departments and agencies and US airline industry, in negotiations between the United States and the European Union, and foreign states in the formation of international aviation agreements (ie. “Open Skies”).His previous APA experience includes, peer support, communications, government affairs, contract compliance and implementation. Hired by American Airlines in 1988, Bob Coffman has been based in New York, Chicago, Dallas and currently in Miami.He is an international captain on the Boeing 767/757 fleet and has flown the B727 and the B777. Bob’s previous flying experience is through both civilian and military channels.He became a certified flight instructor in general aviation before being accepted to US Air Force flight school with the Louisiana Air National Guard.Bob flew the F-4C as a Weapons System Officer and piloted the F-15A before retiring from the military with 20 years of reserve service in 1996.He continues to keep his instructor rating current and is a certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, with an Inspector Authorization. Before American Airlines, Robert Coffman was a physicist and was employed by Hughes Aircraft Company as a Systems Analyst.Bob held positions as a member of the technical staff – physicist, and project engineer, working for the Spacecraft and Communications divisions on several projects. A graduate of the University of Denver in Physics in 1979, Bob Coffman now resides in Palm Coast, Florida. | |
| Mr John Dabkowski Airline Commercial Amadeus IT Group SA Since October 2013, I am responsible for Airline commercial activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the Americas based in Amadeus’ headquarters in Madrid. Prior to Amadeus, I was the CEO at Navitaire, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Accenture, based in the USA, providing technology and business solutions to the airline industry as an outsourced service. My career in the technology industry stretches back more than 30 years to when I joined GEC Avionics in the UK direct from university in Australia. Since then I have worked in several locations, from London, with the IT group Logica, to Dallas where my roles with Sabre included Senior Vice President of the airline solutions division. I hold a degree in Engineering/Computing from RMIT University Melbourne. | |
| Mr Will Ris Senior VP Government Affairs American Airlines Will Ris is senior vice president, government affairs, for American AirlinesGroup and its principal subsidiary company, American Airlines. In this role, heis responsible for global government and regulatory affairs and public policy.Previously, Ris served as senior vice president, government and regulatory affairs,for AMR Corporation and American Airlines.An attorney with broad experience in government and transportation, Ris hasbeen American Airlines’ principal government affairs executive since July 1996.He is responsible for directing all activities on behalf of American with Congress,the administration and a broad range of federal agencies.Ris joined American in 1996 from the Wexler Group, a Washington, D.C.-basedgovernment relations firm, where he had been executive vice president. In thatcapacity, he had represented American as outside counsel for 13 years. Beforehis association with Wexler, he served as a trial attorney for the United StatesCivil Aeronautics Board from 1975 to 1978. In 1978, Ris was appointed counsel tothe U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and its Aviation Subcommittee. He served forfive years, during which time he was the principal Senate legal counsel for the drafting of both the airline and truckingderegulation bills.Today, Ris serves as chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the Green Door, Inc., a nationally recognizedorganization that provides services for chronically mentally ill persons in Washington, D.C. Ris is also a member of theboard of governors of Ford’s Theater in Washington, a member of the board of directors of the American Associationof People with Disabilities and a member of the board of trustees for the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington.He is a long-standing board member of the Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corporation in Hood River, Ore., andchairman of its audit committee.Ris graduated from Northwestern University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in political science. He received aMaster of Arts from Johns Hopkins Univer | |
| Mr Kevin F. Carey SVP/ GM Global Business Travel American Express Kevin F. Carey was appointed president of the Americas region in 2015 and oversees all operations for American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) in Canada, Latin America and the United States. He also serves as a member of the senior leadership team, which sets policy and strategic direction for the company. Prior to this role, Kevin headed the Global Client Group, a dedicated team responsible for leading worldwide client management engagement with the company’s largest strategic customers and business partners. Before joining GBT in 2012, Kevin served as head of merchant services for Serve, American Express’s next-generation technology and emerging payments platform. Kevin has also held numerous roles in the company’s Global Merchant Services business unit including, leading the Retail Industries Group where he was responsible for global customer relationship management with the largest retail and oil customers including Wal-Mart, Costco, Shell, The Home Depot and Apple. He also served as head of Client Management-North America, where he was responsible for leading a 250+ person sales/account development team across the United States and Canada and as Regional Vice President for the US Central Region. He also held a variety of positions with increasing responsibilities spanning the company’s business development, government relations and public affairs interests. Externally, Kevin has broad leadership experience representing companies before government and key industry trade associations, including US Travel, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and the Travel Business Roundtable, where he also served as an executive committee member. Kevin has participated in the University of Chicago’s executive education program. He holds a masters degree in business from Johns Hopkins University and earned a BA in History from Pennsylvania State University. Kevin resides in Far Hills, New Jersey with his wife and their four children. | |
| Mr Lee Moak President Americans for Fair Skies Captain Lee Moak is the President of the nonprofit, Americans for Fair Skies, a grassroots coalition of Americans working to level the playing field and restore fairness to the Open Skies agreements the U.S. has with Qatar and the UAE. He is also Co-Founder and CEO of The Moak Group, a public affairs and strategic business consulting firm in Washington, DC. The focus, determination, and leadership skills developed over the course of Captain Lee Moak’s career as a Marine Corps and Navy fighter pilot, B-767 Delta Air Lines captain, and as President of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), have led him to become a significant force for change in the realm of air transportation and international policy. Captain Moak’s extensive experience within the corporate, labor, and political worlds allows him to offer an expansive perspective on business and policy agendas. The knowledge and remarkable skillset Captain Moak used to help guide Delta’s bankruptcy recovery and merger with Northwest Airlines as chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council, and after, as President of ALPA, the largest non-governmental aviation safety organization in the world, he now bring to clients at The Moak Group. Captain Moak’s work in Washington on behalf of the American aviation industry and airline pilots has been historic. Captain Moak effectively advocated for the overhaul of the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ wide-body aircraft financing practices and facilitated the successful opposition of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme, an illegal tax on U.S. airlines. During his time as a pilot, pilot leader, and association leader, Captain Moak devoted his energy and passion to ensuring the future of American aviation and aviation jobs. He continues to bring that same commitment to clients at The Moak Group, as well as continuing to support and help position the American aviation industry for success. During his four years as chief executive and administrative officer of ALPA, Captain Moak served as the Agency’s chief spokesman, working to advance pilots’ views in the airline industry before U.S. and international government agencies, airline and other business executives, and the news media. Captain Moak expanded the traditional role of labor union leader through “active and constructive engagement” with any and all parties who affected the professional lives and careers of the pilots he represented. Captain Moak also oversaw the Association’s daily operations, directed policy agendas of ALPA’s governing bodies including the Board of Directors, and guided ALPA pilots to ratify 19 new contracts, including the largest airline merger in history at United/Continental. From local reporters to international media, Main Street to Wall Street, regulators to legislators, and from other unions to industry leaders around the globe — Captain Moak ensured that ALPA played a critical role in, and constructively contributed to, the policy and regulatory arenas in which it was engaged. Captain Moak led the creation and implementation of ALPA’s FAA reauthorization agenda, which was signed into law as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. His leadership also resulted in numerous critical aviation safety measures becoming reality, including the adoption and implementation of NextGen, and the Known Crewmember program, a cornerstone of TSA’s risk-based security protocol. Captain Moak serves on the FAA Management Advisory Council on management, policy, spending, and regulatory matters. He has been a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and Chair of the Financial Oversight Committee for the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department. He has also served on the FAA NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC), composed of industry decision makers and tasked with advising the administration on key-decisions regarding the improvement and modernization of the US’s aviation infrastructure. Captain Moak holds a degree from the University of West Florida and held the ranks of Captain in the United States Marine Corps and Commander in the United States Navy. | |
| Mr Greeley S. Koch Executive Director Association of Corporate Travel Executives Executive Director for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Greeley Koch has had a distinguished 28-year business travel industry career. He has served as a global travel manager, a consultant, and has worked for a global travel management company and travel software company. He is a former ACTE board member, president, and has testified on behalf of the industry before the United States Congress. In 2005, Koch was named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Business Travel Executives and Buying Business Travel in 2013 named him one of the 30 Top Influencers in Business Travel. | |
| Mr Alex Malfitani President Tudo Azul Azul Brazilian Airlines Alex Malfitani heads TudoAzul, the loyalty program for Azul Brazilian airlines. Alex was a member of the team that founded Azul in 2008 and before running the loyalty program was the airline’s treasurer and head of corporate finance. Before Azul, Alex worked for five years at United Airlines in Chicago, where he occupied several positions in strategic planning, treasury and finance. His experience also includes five years in banking in positions such as fund manager at Deutsche Bank and proprietary trader at Credit Agricole Indosuez. He has an engineering degree from the University of Sao Paulo (“Escola Politecnica”), an MBA with honors from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter. | |
| Mr Alex de Gunten Executive Board of ALTA BDO HEICO Alex de Gunten is the Business Development Officer for HEICO Aerospace Corporation and Advisor to the Executive Board of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA). HEICO Aerospace is focused on PMAs, OEM and DER Repair, Defense, and Distribution products and services. Previously he served as Executive Director of ALTA, VP International of LanChile as well as holding different leadership roles at Canadian Airlines International. Alex is the 2014 recipient of Air Transport World’s Decade of Excellence Award, 2013 recipient of ALTA’s Federico Bloch Award, co-recipient of the Flight Safety Foundation-Boeing's 2012 Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award and 2012 recipient of the Greater Miami Aviation Association's Juan Trippe Award. Alex is also a member of the prestigious Airline Business Airline Strategy Awards judging panel and a frequent speaker at commercial aviation events. | |
| Mr Benjamin Dachis Senior Policy Analyst C.D. Howe Institute Benjamin Dachis is a Senior Policy Analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute. He started with the C.D. Howe Institute in 2006 as a Research Fellow and also has experience with a major U.S. think tank. He returned to the C.D. Howe Institute as a Policy Analyst in January of 2008. Dachis has an Hon. BA in Economics from the University of Toronto, an MSc from the London School of Economics, where he was awarded the George and Hilda Ormsby prize for his dissertation, and an MA in Economics from the University of Toronto. He has written on municipal finance, transportation, tax, energy, environmental and labour policy. He is a member of the 2012 Insight Grants Economics Committee for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. | |
| Mr Jim Scott CEO Canada Jetlines Ltd. Mr. Jim Scott is the Chief Executive Officer of Canada Jetlines and leads a dynamic and highly experienced airline team to operate an ULCC airline based at the Vancouver International Airport. Recognising that Canada is one of the last Western countries without a dedicated ULCC airline, Mr. Scott has provided the vision to bring low airfares to Canada. Mr. Scott has over 25 years of operational aviation experience as a pilot and examiner in North America, Europe and Asia including airlines such as Time Air (Canadian Regional Airlines), Transport Aérien Transrégional and Cathay Pacific Airways. In addition to his aviation background, Mr. Scott specializes in start-up ventures, and leading edge trends. During the 1990’s, Mr. Scott founded a private pension plan that today has over one hundred million dollars in assets. In 2008, Mr. Scott took on a position as a senior planner for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games involved in the security force organizational structure, and inter-agency communication processes. With the Vancouver Police, Mr. Scott led a team of financial crime investigators and personally specialized in cybercrime prevention. In 2011, Mr. Scott founded the Equitas Society, a national organization that helps disabled soldiers with their benefit levels. For his professional and community service Mr. Scott has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor Meritorious Service Award. Mr. Scott holds a Bachelor’s Degree of General Studies and a Masters of Arts Degree. | |
| Daniel-Robert Gooch President Canadian Airports Council Daniel-Robert Gooch is president of the Canadian Airports Council, where he oversees operations at the Canadian division of Airports Council International-North America. He was promoted to the position after serving five years as director of communications and policy. Daniel has more than 16 years experience in marketing, public relations, and publishing, particularly in the aviation and technology sectors. Prior to joining the CAC, he was publisher and editor of Commercial Aviation Today, a Montréal-based daily electronic news publication for airline industry executives around the world. After founding the publication in 2003, Daniel built its readership to 8,700 airline industry leaders on nearly every continent. He also was involved in marketing, media relations and event planning for the publication’s parent company. Previously, Daniel was vice president of strategic planning for Atlanta-based Gelignite Communications. In this position, he managed the firm’s public relations and interactive marketing efforts for its U.S. and Canadian clients in the financial, healthcare and business-to-business technology sectors. He also has held a series of successively senior positions in marketing and media relations for firms in Atlanta, Coral Gables, Fla. and Montréal. Daniel is an honours graduate in political science and history from Concordia University in Montréal. | |
| Mr Bobby Healy CTO CarTrawler Bobby Healy is an experienced inventor and technology entrepreneur specialising in booking engine software. He joined CarTrawler in 2005 having begun his career building computer games for Nintendo at 16 years of age. Prior to joining CarTrawler, Bobby founded Eland Technologies which he later sold to airline technology giant SITA and remained as CTO until 2005. His booking solutions are now in use by 80% of the world's top 20 airlines. Bobby continues to be an avid computer programmer and is a frequent speaker on the international circuit on subjects related to technology in the airline industry, ancillary revenue and online distribution. | |
| Ms Rosemary A Vassiliadis Director of Aviation Clark County Department of Aviation Rosemary A. Vassiliadis was named Clark County Director of Aviation in March 2013. She had previously served as Deputy Director of Aviation since December 1997. She oversees all operations at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, as well as general aviation airports in North Las Vegas, Henderson, Jean and Overton, Nevada. Vassiliadis is the eleventh person to lead Clark County’s aviation system since McCarran was establish in 1948, and is the first woman to serve as Director. McCarran annually ranks among the world’s busiest airports, serving nearly 43 million passengers in 2014. Under Vassiliadis’ leadership, the airport has developed an industry-leading security program while maintaining a strong commitment to world-class customer service. Vassiliadis manages the work of nearly 1,500 employees, ensuring that the airport system’s operational plans are efficiently and effectively implemented. Vassiliadis works with several national organizations that are critical to the U.S. and global travel industries. Since February 2011, she has overseen McCarran’s efforts as an Executive Board Member of the U.S. Travel Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group that promotes American travel interests both domestically and worldwide. In February 2014, Vassiliadis was elected by member vote to serve as the Association’s Board Treasurer. Since 2009, Vassiliadis has been an advisory board member for the International Aviation Law Institute, a premier source for research, analysis, and study of international aviation law and policy based out of the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. In September 2011, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed Vassiliadis a member of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission, which is responsible for setting goals and programs to counteract or prevent potential acts of terrorism or related emergencies; she had previously served in this role from August 2004 through July 2007. Vassiliadis has been a member of the United Service Organizations’ Las Vegas Advisory Council since April 2010, and was proud to participate in the opening of Nevada’s first USO Center at McCarran on Veterans Day 2010. Vassiliadis came from the Clark County Department of Finance, where she amassed 16 years of progressive government experience. As director of finance for Clark County, she was responsible for a $2.2 billion operating budget and a $2.4 billion capital improvement plan. Before joining Clark County, she worked for the City of Las Vegas Finance Department, beginning as a financial analyst and progressing to manager of finance and budget. A native of Chicago, Vassiliadis earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from DePaul University. She and her husband have two children and enjoy a variety of community activities. | |
| Helane Becker Managing Director & Senior Airline/Aircraft Leasing Analyst Cowen and Company Helane Becker joined Cowen and Company in 2013 as part of the acquisition of Dahlman Rose. Ms. Becker is a managing director and senior research analyst who covers air freight, leasing and airlines. She was previously a managing director at Jesup & Lamont. Ms. Becker has more than 30 years of experience on Wall Street, holding positions within the research, trading, and investment banking departments of several broker/dealers including the former Citi, Lehman Brothers, and Smith Barney. She has been frequently ranked as the #1, 2, or 3 analyst by Institutional Investor magazine, as well as in the top 5 analysts by The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Becker holds a bachelor's degree from Montclair State University and a master's of business administration from New York University. Ms. Becker is a member of The International Honor Society, Beta Gamma Sigma. | |
| Vijay Gill Assistant Vice President, North America CPCS Vijay Gill is Assistant Vice President, North America for CPCS, a management consulting firm providing strategic advisory services specific to transportation, energy and urban development sector infrastructure, operations, investment, policy and regulation. Before joining CPCS in January 2015, he was Director, Policy Research, Public Policy Division, for The Conference Board of Canada (CBoC), Canada’s foremost independent, evidence-based, not-for-profit applied research organization. There he was responsible for directing the CBoC’s Centre for Transportation and Infrastructure research. During his time with the CBoC, Vijay authored on several studies related to aviation policy, airport competitiveness, transportation productivity and efficiency, transportation infrastructure costs, infrastructure service delivery, urban transportation costs and rail freight policy. Prior to joining the CBoC, Vijay was Senior Economist with the Economic Analysis directorate of Transport Canada, where he was primarily responsible for providing advice and analysis to the Policy Group within Transport Canada on all issues related to productivity, performance measurement, taxation and financial analysis. He holds a degree in economics and political science from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business. | |
| Mr Brett Snyder President and Chief Airline Dork Cranky Concierge Brett Snyder is the author of the award-winning airline industry blog, “The Cranky Flier," and president and chief airline dork of Cranky Concierge air travel assistance, for which he has been named one of the Top Travel Specialists for the past three years by Conde Nast Traveler. He is also a contributing editor for PlaneBusiness Banter. Snyder previously worked in pricing, marketing and strategy roles with several airlines, including America West and United. In 2005, Snyder created the travel search site for leading comparison shopping company PriceGrabber.com. Snyder graduated from The George Washington University with a bachelor’s in business in 1999 and Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in 2004. | |
| Mike Derchin Managing Director and Co-Head of Research CRT Capital Group Michael joined CRT’s research group in 2010 after working at FTN Equity Capital Markets. Prior to that, he spent 10 years on the buy side, including five years at Tiger Management where he headed the transportation group which included global coverage of airlines, aerospace, air freight, surface transportation and cruise lines. Mr. Derchin began work on the sell side with stints at Oppenheimer, First Boston, Drexel Burnham, and NatWest. Before his Wall Street career, Mr. Derchin held management positions at Pan Am and American Airlines. He holds a BA from Brooklyn College, an MBA from CCNY and did doctoral work at Syracuse University. | |
| Mr Sean Donohue Chief Executive Officer Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Sean Donohue serves as Chief Executive Officer of Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, the fourth-busiest airport in the world. In his role as CEO, Mr. Donohue is responsible for the management, operation and future development of the Airport. As the chief executive of DFW Airport, Mr. Donohue manages an organization comprised of more than 1700 employees, as well as an annual operating budget of over $650 million and a $3 billion capital improvement program. Under Mr. Donohue’s direction, DFW Airport produces more than $31 billion in annual economic impact for the Dallas/Fort Worth region, and hosts more than 60 million passengers each year. Mr. Donohue joined DFW International Airport in October of 2013, following a distinguished 28-year career in the airline industry. Prior to his arrival at DFW, Mr. Donohue served for three years as the Chief Operating Officer for Virgin Australia Airlines, where he led day-to-day operations for Australia’s second largest air carrier. Prior to that, Mr. Donohue served for 25 years with United Airlines in a variety of executive roles that included operations, sales and commercial startups. Mr. Donohue graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Economics, and is a native of Massachusetts. Mr. Donohue is married and has five children. | |
| Mr Ben Hirst Executive VP & Chief Legal Officer Delta Air Lines Ben Hirst is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Delta Air Lines overseeing the airline’s legal and government affairs teams. Before joining Delta in 2008, Ben served as Northwest Airlines’ Senior Vice President – Corporate Affairs and General Counsel. He began at Northwest in 1990 as Senior Vice President – General Counsel and in 1994 assumed responsibility for Corporate Affairs. In 1999, Ben left Northwest to become general counsel of the Minnesota Twins, before being named Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Burger King Corporation and later executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of KB Home. In 2007, Ben returned to Northwest to oversee the company’s legal affairs and internal and external communications. Before joining Northwest, Ben was Vice President – General Counsel and Secretary at Continental Airlines from 1986 to 1990. Ben’s background also includes a position as associate professor of Law at the University of Puget Sound Law School in Tacoma, Wash., and assistant to the director of International and Domestic Aviation for the Civil Aeronautics Board during the deregulation of the airline industry. In his early career, Ben was in private law practice in Vermont, served as a law clerk in U.S. District Court in Vermont and was a reporter on the Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin. Ben graduated from Harvard College in 1969 and Harvard Law School in 1972. | |
| Mr Michael Linenberg Managing Director Deutsche Bank Mike joined Deutsche Bank in May 2010 as Managing Director and senior company research analyst to lead airline coverage in the Americas and aircraft leasing companies. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mike was at Merrill Lynch where he was Managing Director and Co-Head of Basic Materials and Industrials Research. At Merrill Lynch, Mike’s coverage universe included airlines headquartered throughout the Americas as well as aircraft leasing companies. Mike joined Merrill Lynch in 1992. Prior to his position in Equity Research, Mike worked in Merrill Lynch’s Investment Banking Group in both New York and Los Angeles. Mike has been ranked in the Institutional Investor Analyst Survey for 12 out of the past 13 years. Mike has received a Top 5 ranking in the Wall Street Journal Stock Picking Survey eight times (#1 2010, #4 2009, #1 2007, #4 2006, #4 2005, #2 2004, #2 2003, #2 2002). In 2009, he was inducted into the Wall Street Journal Analyst Hall of Fame for stock selection. Lastly, he has been recognized numerous times over the years in other stock selection surveys including Financial Times/Starmine and Forbes. | |
| Vincent Harrison Managing Director Dublin Airport Vincent Harrison was appointed Managing Director of Dublin Airport in January 2014. Prior to this he was Director Strategy, Regulation & B2B and has also held senior finance positions with Irish airports group, daa plc. Vincent has served as a member of the policy committee of ACI Europe, the representative body for European airports, and on the Council of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. He has previously held senior financial and management positions with Esat/BT in Ireland and with Rubbermaid Inc. in USA and in Europe. He has also worked as an independent management consultant. Vincent trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in Dublin. He holds an MBA degree from University of Pittsburgh, USA and a B.Comm degree from University College Cork and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. | |
| Sir Tim Clark President Emirates Airline 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 Tewolde GebreMariam 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 multiple 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 November 2013, Mr. Tewolde won the 2013 “Planet Africa professional Excellence Award”. In July 2014, Ethiopian Airlines Board of Directors recognized Mr. Tewolde by awarding him a Gold Medal for this exceptional leadership, dedication and hard work, which have enabled Ethiopian Airlines to register outstanding performance as per its fast, profitable and sustainable growth strategy, Vision 2025. 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); Executive Committee member of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA); Board Member of EthioTelecom; Chairman of the Board of the Ethiopian Tourism Organization; Board Member of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, 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 Jim Callaghan General Counsel & Company Secretary, Ireland Etihad Airways Jim Callaghan became Etihad Airways’ General Counsel and Company Secretary in May 2009. Previously, he spent nine years at Europe’s largest low cost carrier, Ryanair Ltd, as Company Secretary and Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs. At Ryanair, Mr Callaghan was responsible for setting up the airline’s legal function and for corporate governance and liaising with the Board. He actively manages a suite of ongoing regulatory and legal issues relating to competition law, trademarks, airport contracts, advertising standards, consumer law, and commercial litigation. Before joining Ryanair in 2000, Mr Callaghan spent several years at international law firms in the United States and in Brussels. He holds a Juris Doctorate and a Masters in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters in European and International Law from Vrije Universiteit in Brussels. | |
| Mr Kevin Knight Chief Strategy & Planning Officer Etihad Airways Kevin Knight joined Etihad as Chief Strategy & Planning Officer in March 2011. In this role he is responsible for overall corporate strategy and the development of the network, also overseeing pricing, capacity and revenue management, route and network planning, alliances and aircraft acquisitions. Etihad Cargo also reports to him. Mr Knight has more than 30 years’ experience in the airline industry, including business development, strategic planning and operations. Before joining Etihad, he spent 17 years at United Airlines, the last five as Senior Vice President Planning. Mr Knight holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Westminster College, Utah, and an MBA from the University of Utah. He is Vice Chairman of Air Seychelles in which Etihad Airways has a 40 per cent equity stake and also Chairman of Amadeus Gulf. | |
| Ms Nancy Sparks Managing Director, Regulatory Affairs FedEx Express Nancy Sparks joined FedEx in 1984 and has held various positions with the Company in Memphis, Tennessee, Brussels, Belgium and Washington DC. Her undergraduate work was at the University of Pennsylvania and she received her law degree from the University of Virginia.At the present time, she supervises legal support for postal and aviation regulation and other transportation-related regulations within the FedEx legal department as well as international and domestic environment, export controls and economic sanctions and restricted commodities matters.Additionally, she leads on international compliance programs related to the international operations. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including receiving the Federal Express' Five Star Award, its highest award for employee excellence, four times.She is a member of the board of directors of the International Aviation Club (Washington) and of the Women in Logistics and Delivery Services. She is also the chair of the Industry Affairs Committee of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). | |
| Mr Rush O' Keefe Senior Vice President and General Counsel FedEx Express Corporation M. Rush O’Keefe, Jr. is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company. After several years in private law practice, O’Keefe started with the Federal Express Legal Department in 1986, serving as both a staff attorney and Managing Director in the Labor and Employment Group before being named the Vice President of Regulatory and Industry Affairs in 1998. While Vice President of Regulatory and Industry Affairs, O’Keefe was responsible for international aviation matters worldwide, including aviation bilateral treaties and traffic rights issues for the world’s largest cargo airline. He assumed his current position in August 2002. He has won three times Federal Express’ Five Star Award, its highest award for employee excellence. A native of Batesville, Mississippi, O’Keefe graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1975 with a degree in accounting, and from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1979. He is licensed to practice in Mississippi and Tennessee, and has appeared before a wide variety of state and federal courts, as well as U.S. and foreign government agencies. FedEx Express is one of four business units of FedEx Corporation, a $46-billion global transportation and logistics holding company. FedEx Express invented express distribution and remains the industry’s global leader, providing rapid, reliable, time-definite delivery to more than 220 countries and territories, connecting markets that comprise more than 90 percent of the world’s gross domestic product within one to three business days. Unmatched air route authorities and transportation infrastructure, combined with leading-edge information technologies, make FedEx Express the world’s largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable services for more than 3.6 million shipments each business day. | |
| Mr Daniel Akins Consultant US Flightpath Economics Dan Akins is an aviation economist with over thirty years of experience consulting in the commercial airline industry. Specializing in financial and operational analysis, as well as forecasting, Dan has provided detailed air transport demand projections and economic impact analysis for both US and foreign airport operators. He has worked extensively on behalf of a number of passenger and cargo air carriers and has produced support for a wide variety of international route applications before the US DOT under the auspices of bilateral treaties. Dan has also been heavily involved as an analyst, UCC advisor and expert witness in a number of recent airline restructurings including; American, United, Northwest, US Airways, Pinnacle, Mesaba, Hawaiian, Aloha and Global Aviation. Other engagements include work on pilot seniority integrations resulting from the mergers of United/Continental, Delta/Northwest, Southwest/Airtran, US Airways/America West, and Northwest/Republic, among several others. He is currently heavily involved in evaluating problems and potential solutions relating to cockpit crew supply issues. Dan started his aviation career in Washington as a financial analyst with the Air Line Pilots Association. He is a graduate if the London School of Economics where he specialized in Transport Economics. | |
| Mr Phillip N Brown A.A.E. Executive Director Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Phil Brown is the Executive Director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. As Executive Director, he is responsible for the operation and management of both Orlando International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport, with an annual budget of over $400 million.Orlando International Airport serves more than 35 million passengers annually, making it one of the busiest airports in the State of Florida. During the past 35 years as a business professional, Mr. Brown served in a variety of public and private sector positions.These positions include a previous stint as Deputy Executive Director – Administration for the Authority in the early 1990’s as well as County Administrator for Orange County Florida.For fourteen years, prior to his return to the Aviation Authority, Mr. Brown was employed as a public finance professional. Mr. Brown holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, and is an Accredited Airport Executive by the American Airport Association of Airport Executives. | |
| Mr Tomas Ramirez Chief Commercial Office Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico Tomas Ramirez is the Chief Commercial Office of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, a Company listed in the NYSE and the Mexican Stock Market that holds the concession of twelve airports, being the most relevant Los Cabos, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and Tijuana. He has eleven years of experience at the airport industry developing both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues, acting as the top executive for revenue management affairs, conducting negotiations to increase air service networks, leading the redesign of commercial areas as well as improving the quality and revenues from commercial leases and directing several specialized business units wholly owned by the company such as an advertising agency, a car parking company, a convenience store chain and a VIP lounge network. Previously he worked as the finance manager of a highway and ports concession company, as a consultant in Deloitte and as risk analyst in the financial industry. Mr. Ramirez holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona. | |
| Mr Wei Hou Senior Vice President China Hainan Airlines Co. Ltd Hou Wei, vice president of Hainan Airlines, which is one of the biggest airlines in China, and the first Skytrax five-star airline of China. Hou entered Hainan Airlines in 2005, and he has worked as the Deputy General Manager of the Sales and Marketing Department and the Chief Marketing Officer of Hainan Airlines, and for instance, he is mainly in charge of the marketing management. The 10 years working experience in Hainan Airlines contributed to his extensive knowledge in Marketing and Sales, Pricing & Revenue Management, E-commerce, Airport Operations, External Relations, Alliances and Strategical Partnerships. | |
| Mr Peter R. Ingram Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer Hawaiian Airlines Mr. Ingram, 48, is the Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., a position he has held since November 2011. As Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Ingram oversees marketing and sales, revenue management, network planning, partnerships, and cargo for Hawaiian Airlines. Under his leadership, the 85-year-old destination carrier has expanded into new destination gateways throughout North America, Asia and South Pacific. Previously, he has served for six years as the Chief Financial Officer of Hawaiian Airlines, from November 2005 to November 2011. Prior to joining Hawaiian Airlines, Mr. Ingram spent 11 years with AMR Corporation, parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines. From 2002 to 2005, he served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer for American Eagle Airlines, after eight years in finance-related management positions for American Airlines. Mr. Ingram earned his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and graduated with honors from the University of Western Ontario. He was born on April 26, 1966. | |
| Mr Brent A. Overbeek Vice President, Revenue Management & Network Planning Hawaiian Airlines Mr. Overbeek is the Vice President - Revenue Management & Network Planning of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., a position he has held since July 2014. As Vice President - Revenue Management & Network Planning, Mr. Overbeek oversees revenue management and revenue analytics as well as network and schedule planning for Hawaiian Airlines. Prior to joining Hawaiian Airlines, Mr. Overbeek served as the Vice President - Revenue Management for Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. Previously, he also worked for American Airlines, where he gained 19 years of progressive analytical and revenue management experience in several positions including Managing Director - Domestic and Regional Revenue Management as well as Managing Director - Domestic Pricing and Regional Revenue Management. Mr. Overbeek holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego. | |
| Ms Anita Mosner Washington-based partner Holland & Knight LLP Anita Mosner is a Washington-based partner of Holland & Knight LLP, and serves as the Deputy Chair of the firm’s 50-member Aviation Team. Anita has handled all phases of the airline start up process, and has led the launch of both U.S. and foreign air carriers. She also has played a leading role in the development of several major airline alliances and joint ventures. Anita has defended major enforcement actions before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Security Administration, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies. She also has strong experience in international air safety and air safety oversight, and crisis management and response. Anita has received numerous honors and awards for her aviation-related work. These awards include:
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| Mr Peter Cerdá Regional Vice President, The Americas IATA Peter Cerdá is the Regional Vice President in the Americas for IATA, the trade association whose 240 member airlines transport more than 84% of total air traffic. He leads a multinational team of professionals which proactively pursue IATA’s industry priorities with governmental authorities and industry stakeholders to make the air transport industry safer, more secure, efficient and profitable. Peter possesses a wealth of senior industry experience acquired over a long and successful career in aviation. Most recently, he served as Regional Director for Safety, Operations and Infrastructure for the Americas and Atlantic until 2013. Fluent in English and Spanish, Peter was born in Spain and received his Master’s Degree in Aeronautics and Aviation Management from Embry Riddle University and a Bachelor of Business Administration at Florida International University. | |
| Mr Samuel Engel Vice President ICF International Samuel Engel is a recognized expert oninternational airline economics and strategicplanning. His analyses on behalf of airlines,investors, and governments have supportedmultimillion-dollar investments and litigationresults, as well as corporate decisions topursue new business lines, routes, and aircraftpurchases.Mr. Engel has been a strategy consultant for more than 20years, 17 of which have been spent in the aviation industry.He has special expertise in airline business planning, with anemphasis on revenue development. Mr. Engel has developedindustry-leading business planning tools for aviation, includingICF’s Best Practice Fleet Planning and Management model, as well as ICF’s Global Air Trafficand Fleet Forecasting model. Mr. Engel also leads corporate strategy engagements to helpcompanies adapt to rapidly changing competitive environments in aviation. In recent work, Mr.Engel has led a comprehensive airline restructuring in the Middle East, where he builtconsensus among stakeholders to recapitalize the airline, renegotiate aircraft purchaseagreements and increase staff productivity. In another assignment, Mr. Engel designed andsupported the operational integration plan for a global air carrier with bases on five continents.Mr. Engel holds an MBA from Yale and a BA from Penn. He currently leads ICF’s AviationStrategy group. | |
| Mr William A. Franke Managing Partner United States Indigo Partners Bill Franke is the Managing Partner of Indigo Partners LLC, a private equity fund focused on air transportation investments. The fund currently has major investments in Volaris Airlines (Mexico), Wizz Air (Hungary) and Frontier Airlines (U.S.). During Mr. Franke’s business career he has been the Chief Executive Officer of a Fortune 500 forest products company, which he repositioned strategically, tripled its revenues and achieved record profits before merging it with another company at the industry’s highest per ton valuation; Chairman of the Executive Committee of a large regional bank whose management he restructured; Chief Executive Officer of a large U.S. convenience store company, which he restructured; and, from 1993 to August 2001, Chief Executive Officer of America West Airlines (now American Airlines), which he managed through a bankruptcy into an airline that from 1994 to 2000 had the highest EBITDAR margins of the major U.S. airlines and won two J.D. Power awards for its service. Mr. Franke was Managing Partner of Newbridge Latin America, a private equity fund focused on Latin America, which made investments in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina in a variety of businesses including retail, manufacturing and insurance. Newbridge was wound up in 2012 on sale of its last investment. Mr. Franke served as the founding chairman of Airplanes Group, Ltd., a US$5 billion aircraft finance vehicle created from the aircraft portfolio of GPA Group plc, the Irish aircraft leasing company, and supported by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). He was involved in the 1998 acquisition of GPA (then renamed AerFi Group) by Texas Pacific Group and served on AerFi’s board of directors until it was sold in 2000. Also, along with an investment group led by David Bonderman, Mr. Franke was a pre-IPO investor in Ryanair and a founder of Hotwire, the travel internet site. Mr. Franke was the Founding Chairman of Tiger Airways (Singapore), was the Chairman of Spirit Airlines (U.S.), serves as Chairman of Wizz Air Limited (Hungary), is a director of Volaris (Mexico), and is the Chairman of Frontier Airlines (U.S.) In addition, he has served on several public company boards of directors in a variety of industries. Mr. Franke was born in Texas and raised in Latin America. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University, whose business college is named after him. | |
| Mr Albert Kluijver CEO Insel Air International Albert Kluyver is co founder and CEO of InselAir Curacao which started operations 2006 and President of InselAir Aruba which started operations in 2013. Together with his brother and business partner Niko Kluyver he founded Willemstad Private Equity Fund, which invests in a variety Caribbean based companies involved in financial services, transportation and real estate. He started its career with Ernst & Young and as commercial director of ABN AMRO Bank. He is a supervisory board member of several companies and a member of the executive committee of ALTA the Latin America and Caribbean airline association. Albert Kluyver holds a Master degree in business economics of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. | |
| Ms Deborah T Meehan President and CEO InterVISTAS Consulting Group Deborah Meehan has over 30 years of experience in aviation consulting and has been a trusted advisor to senior management at airports and airlines due to her expertise in airport planning, business planning, demand forecasts and the strategies airlines employ to serve airports. She is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of SH&E (1999-2011), a leading aviation consulting firm, now ICF SH&E. While at SH&E, she saw the need for airports to generate non-airline revenues and she acquired a concession consulting company. Since that time, Ms. Meehan has been involved in business planning studies both globally (Hong Kong, London Luton, Edmonton and Athens) and in United States. In all of these studies, Ms. Meehan has identified the highest and best use of airport property. She is an expert in airport revenue sources and expansion. She has conducted a number of studies benchmarking non-airline revenue per passenger as well as airport unit cost. Most recently, she was an expert witness in this area on a project that included a major Texas Airport. Ms. Meehan has spoken on the need and sources of non-airline revenue at National Conferences. Further, she has helped airports write policies that maximize the use of airport assets, especially gates. At Boston Logan, Ms. Meehan assisted the CEO of Massport in developing a minimum gate use policy. This proved to be an invaluable tool in this gate constrained airport. For Milwaukee, she studied the airport’s general aviation operations and their ability to support competitive FBOs. For Los Angeles, she developed a plan for the terminals that LAWA controlled that resulted in better use of facilities and a redesign of airline location based on intensity of use. For an airport in New England, she studied the need for a FTZ. For Atlanta, she studied the need for refrigerated cargo facilities and the subsequent ability to compete for international cargo. Finally, for a major credit card company, she studied the need at the nation’s large hubs for new high level airport lounge facilities to accommodate frequent business travelers. Over the years, Ms. Meehan has worked closely with the U.S. airport community, advising senior management at many of the world’s major airports, including Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Denver, San Diego, Dallas/Fort Worth, Calgary, Houston, Edmonton, Athens, Greece, London Luton and Hong Kong. Ms. Meehan’s strength is her knowledge of airports, the counsel she provides to senior level executives and her understanding of the global aviation industry. As a former President of the Airport Consultant Council (1989) and Associate Board Member of ACI (2008 to 2010), Ms. Meehan’s professional network extends to airports, airlines, consultants, financial institutions and suppliers. Ms. Meehan has a BA in Economics from the University of Massachusetts and an MCRP, Urban Planning, from Harvard University. | |
| Mr John Byerly Consultant John R. Byerly, Consultant John Byerly advises clients on the full range of international aviation issues, including negotiations, economic and environmental regulation, aviation safety and security, government relations, and strategic planning. John graduated with highest honors from the University of North Carolina, studied European and German law on a Fulbright Scholarship in Berlin, and received his JD from Yale in 1979.Upon graduation, he joined the State Department, serving thirty-one years in positions addressing American foreign policy, national security, and international economic relations.For almost a decade (2001-2010), John was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for market-opening air transport agreements with over 70 countries and led U.S. delegations in talks that secured Open Skies with Germany, France, the European Union, and Japan. He was active in the economic, legal, and environmental work of ICAO and helped implement the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of 11-Sep-2001. | |
| Mr John Jackson Vice President, Sales & Marketing - Americas Korean Air With more than two decades in the travel industry and over 15 years specifically with airlines, John Jackson is vice president of passenger marketing and sales for Korean Air's North and South America regions. He's the first non-Korean to hold this executive position in Korean Air's 45+ years of operating between Asia and North America. Jackson grew up in the airline industry with his mother a flight attendant and his father a marketer for Delta. He actively started his airline career as a campus sales representative with Continental/Eastern Airlines in the 1980s at the University of Georgia. After graduation he worked with Delta in planning and maintenance scheduling before joining Korean Air where he was promoted through the sales and marketing ranks in KAL's offices in Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles. In 1999, Travel Agent Magazine chose John as one of its 'Rising Stars of the Travel Industry', a list of people under 35 predicted to make an impact on the industry. After nearly five years with Korean Air, he was recruited by Advanstar Communications and moved to New York where he was responsible for sales in the Asia/Pacific region, along with global sales for a directory of luxury hotels & resorts. Using his travel and aviation expertise, John then started RB Media, a company that represented magazines, newsletters, and published a monthly community newspaper. While he enjoyed success as a publisher, John's true calling is the airline industry and he rejoined the Asian powerhouse in 2005 to lead its North American passenger marketing and sales teams. He oversees those functions in the USA, Canada, and Central/South America. His primary responsibility is to increase Korean Air's market share in the lucrative corporate and luxury leisure travel markets. He also oversees all passenger marketing and sales functions including loyalty programs, corporate and agency sales, internet sales and marketing, advertising, public relations, alliances, and pricing. In addition he coordinates Korean Air’s sales offices and network of general sales agents (GSAs). John attended the University of Denver School of Law and Warwick University (UK) Graduate School of Business. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Asia Travel Association and is married with two children. | |
| Mr Frank Morogiello Senior Client Partner Korn Ferry Frank Morogiello is a Senior Client Partner in the Dallas office of Korn Ferry International. He is a member of the Firm’s Industrial Practice, and specializes in transportation recruitment efforts. Previously Mr. Morogiello was a Partner at a global executive recruiting firm. He served Industrial clients globally, focusing on key relationships within transportation and the broader business community; he also leveraged his experience in the transportation and tourism segments, as well as his considerable sales and marketing experience. Mr. Morogiello brings to Korn Ferry deep aviation industry experience, having served nearly three decades at American Airlines in multiple roles spanning operations and corporate functions. Most recently, as Vice President of Global Sales, he led a large team and was responsible for building partnerships with and growing revenue from global corporations, transportation, government agencies and other key airline customers and audiences. As the Vice President of Global Sales, he directed, integrated and coordinated the efforts within the collection of oneworld and the Alliance Airline partners. Mr. Morogiello has been a featured speaker and panelist at top transportation conferences around the world. He has first-hand industry experience on each side of the transportation paradigm including a thorough understanding of distribution. He sits on several travel boards and is an advisor to the Texas Travel Industry Association, GetGoing, Seatboost, Trip Champ, eCommissions Solutions and Brand New Matter. Mr. Morogiello received his bachelor's degree from Wagner College and also completed the executive program at The University of Illinois at Chicago Business School with a concentration in finance. | |
| Mr John Thomas Head of Global Aviation and Asia-Pacific Regional L.E.K. Consulting John Thomas is Head of Global Aviation and Asia-Pacific Regional Head at L.E.K. Consulting. He is also a member of L.E.K.'s Global Leadership Team. John has been actively involved in the aviation industry for the past 35 years, initially as an operator and for the past 25 years as a strategic advisor to the industry. He has worked for the major airlines around the world on some of their most strategically important issues including M&A, Joint Ventures and alliances, ancillary revenues, network and fleet planning, product development, operational improvement, commercial strategies, loyalty programs etc. He is also active with OEMs, General & Corporate Aviation, FBOs, airports, ATM/CNS and across the broader travel and tourism industries. Specialties: Strategy development and planning, commercial opportunities, new growth opportunities, network and fleet planning, operational improvement, new product development, M&A, asset allocation, ancillary revenues, merchandising, alliances, loyalty programs, distribution strategies, sales force effectiveness, organizational restructuring and effectiveness, post-acquisition integration, value based management and cost efficiency. John Thomas is a Managing Director and Partner, and a member of the Global Leadership Team at L.E.K. Consulting. John also heads L.E.K.’s global Aviation & Travel practice and is also active in our Private Equity practice. John has more than 24 years of experience in strategy, financial, commercial, operational and organizational consulting to the aviation industry. He has worked with most of the leading airlines around the world (both legacy and LCC) on a broad range of major issues. For example, he has been instrumental in the adaptation of merchandising (ancillary revenue) to the airline industry and has advised on many of the major merger and acquisition deals in the industry. He has also worked with OEMs, CNS/ATMs, airports, tour operators, travel destinations, cruise lines, hotels, resorts, loyalty programs, and caterers, and has extensive experience in the GA and Corporate Aviation industries. He has worked with clients in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining L.E.K., John was a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. Prior to his consulting career, he had seven years of industry experience in accounting, marketing, and management roles. John received a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of New South Wales. He was also awarded a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD, where he was on the Dean's List. John is a commercial instrument rated pilot. | |
| Mr Paul Rinaldi President National Air Traffic Controllers Association Paul Rinaldi became NATCA’s sixth president when he began his first term in October 2009. He was re-elected by acclamation in March 2012 and again in April 2015 for an unprecedented third term as NATCA president. Rinaldi is committed to improving the working relationship between the Union, the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation. Efforts like the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP), fatigue mitigation, Professional Standards, and Partnership For Safety are a result of his team’s focus on progress and safety. These processes have led to collaboration on issues involving airspace, procedures, technology, staffing and training while cementing NATCA’s leadership role and voice in the aviation industry. Prior to being elected NATCA President, Rinaldi served three years as NATCA’s Executive Vice President, after 16 years as an air traffic controller at Washington-Dulles Tower (IAD). Rinaldi currently holds positions on the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC), the FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC) and was recently elected as a vice president of the labor federation’s Executive Council. Rinaldi also serves as a union representative on the FAA National Labor-Management Forum. Rinaldi is a native of Island Park, N.Y. He resides in Manassas, Va., with his wife, Debra. He has two sons, Anthony and Nicholas, and a daughter, Olivia. | |
| Mr John Grant Executive Vice President OAG OAG John is responsible the management and enhancement of OAG’s product portfolio and new product development which includes OAG’s Flight Schedules database, Flight Status and its rapidly evolving analytical products, the OAGs Analyser Suite. Previously, John served as Managing Director of ASM, a leading consultancy specialising in air service development for airports. During his tenure there he achieved a number of successes for the company and its clients, including the successful re-positioning of Kuala Lumpur as Asia’s major low cost airline network centre and the expansion and development of Lima Airport into a major hub facility in South America. Whilst under John’s leadership, ASM was twice voted the best consultancy by the UK Airport Operators Association. John has worked for a range of airlines and airports around the world in areas including finance, marketing and commercial management. He worked at British Caledonian, on the development of its Middle East network, and at Air UK and KLM, where he managed commercial operations and led the rebranding of Air UK before moving to ASM. | |
| Mr Nawal Taneja Aviation Professor Emeritus Ohio State University Nawal Taneja has over 45 years of experience in the airline industry sector, having worked for and advised major airlines and related businesses worldwide. His experience also includes the presidency of a small airline that provided schedule and charter service with jet aircraft and the presidency of a research organization that provided consulting services to the air transportation community throughout the world. Within the academic community, he has served on the Faculties at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (as an Associate Professor) and at the Ohio State University (Professor and later as Chair of both the Department of Aviation and the Department of Aerospace Engineering). On the government side, he has advised worldwide Departments of Civil Aviation, Finance, Economics, and Tourism in matters relating to the role of government-owned airlines and their management. He has also served
on the Boards of both public and private organizations, presents at industry
conferences worldwide, and continues to
advise senior executives in airlines and related businesses as well as senior
government policy makers on managing the:
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| Rita Visser Director Global Travel GPO/Executive Travel Services Oracle Rita Visser has been in the travel industry for over 20 years. Starting at Rosenbluth, she learned the workings of the industry from the inside out.She understands a PNR as well as P&L and everything that sits between those entities. Rita has been involved in many industry initiatives, teams and committees including the GBTA Technology Committee, acting as chair, as well as the GBTA Aviation Committee.She is currently on the Board of Directors for GBTA and a founding member of WINiT. Rita is constantly working to push the industry and everyone involved in the industry forward. She asks the tough questions of both sides of the hot topics.She works closely with peers and suppliers to make positive changes within the travel industry.In her current role, Rita helps Oracle to set strategies that result in positive benefits for Oracle and it’s travellers. Rita was recently named as one of the top innovators in Corporate Travel by Business Travel News and also recognized in the 2014 Top 25 Influential Executives in Corporate Travel. Rita, her husband and three children live in Fargo, ND where she active in her community as well on her family farm. | |
| Mr Kenneth Quinn Partner Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Ken Quinn is a partner and head of Pillsbury's top-ranked aviation, aerospace, and transportation practice and its Unmanned Aircraft Systems focus team. He has served on the Governing Committee and as General Counsel and Secretary of the Flight Safety Foundation since 2004. He was Chief Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration from 1991-93 and served as counselor to the Secretary of Transportation from 1989-91. In January 2015, he was elected President of the International Aviation Club of Washington, DC and has served on its board since 2008. In February 2015, he served as a delegate to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) High Level Safety Conference, after serving on ICAO’s Task Force on Regional Conflict Zones in the wake of MH17. In 2014, he was appointed as an Arbitrator to the Experts Committee of the Shanghai International Aviation Arbitration Court. He also served as the Facilitator for the first-ever ICAO Council Retreat. He has served on the Governing Committee of the ABA Forum on Air and Space Law since 1994, including as Chair in 1996-98, and as Editor-in-Chief of its legal journal, The Air & Space Lawyer, from 1997-2010. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2006, and has served as counsel on the Board of its Washington, DC Chapter since 2008. He received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law, with honors and holds a B.S. in Finance, Northern Illinois University | |
| Mr Marcelo Varella Strategic Development Director Rio Galeao International Airport Marcelo Varella has a Law Degree from the Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and a specialization in Marketing from the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM). With extensive experience in the commercial aviation industry, acquired over the past 25 years, Marcelo has expertise in strategic planning, interline network strategy, international affairs, regulatory, government and airport related. After holding leadership positions with recognized companies in the sector, such as Star Alliance, LATAM, TAM Airlines and Varig Airlines, Marcelo joined RIOgaleão, a concession by Odebrecht TransPort, Changi Airports International and Infraero. In April 2015, he took on the role as Strategic Development Director, being responsible for the development of new routes and the attraction of new flights to the Tom Jobim International Airport. | |
| Ms Mary Kirby Editor and Publisher Runway Girl Network Mary Kirby has covered the aviation industry for nearly 17 years as both a journalist and an editor. After cutting her teeth at a weekly world airline newsletter Mary joined Flightglobal in 1999 as a reporter for its real-time news site Air Transport Intelligence. She was promoted to Deputy Editor, Americas in 2003 and later to US Editor. In 2007 Mary assumed the position of Senior Editor at Flightglobal’s weekly magazine title, Flight International, where she led coverage of inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) and aircraft interiors, and became a regular contributor to sister publication Airline Business magazine. During this time, she was also proprietor of the highly regarded Runway Girl blog, which focused on covering the passenger experience (#PaxEx) sector. In November 2013, Mary launched Runway Girl Network, which delivers news and intelligence about the airline passenger experience industry and highlights the work and accomplishments of women in aviation. The site is completely transforming the traditional aviation B2B trade news model to encompass a B2B2C model that considers passengers’ needs and wants. Mary regularly speaks at industry events about IFEC, ancillary revenue opportunities for airlines and social media. She has appeared on Bloomberg TV, CNN, CBS Money Watch and The PME Interview, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,USA Today, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Chicago Tribune, CNBC’s Road Warrior, NBC’s Today, Reuters and Flightglobal among other news agencies and publications. | |
| Mr David LeCompte CEO Short's Travel Management As CEO of Short’s Travel Management, LeCompte is the only family member working in this family business. He oversees all areas of the company, including two wholly owned companies of Short’s; STM Charters and STO (online booking technology company). Among his many responsibilities LeCompte is very active in product innovation with a goal to develop simple products with clever design that can provide control for Short’s customers. With this philosophy as well as the desire for innovation, Short’s has become “the most innovative TMC in the North America” with such products as FindIt, CouldYou, STO (Short’s Travel Online) and many other products whose simplicity provides an enhanced travel experience. LeCompte currently serves on the GBTA Sports Committee and has had past positions with the GBTA Aviation Committee and president of Junior Achievement. In 2007 and 2010 LeCompte was recognized by Ernst & Young as a Central Midwest Finalist for Entrepreneur Of The Year. In 2012 LeCompte was recognized by Business Travel News as one of the “25 Most Influential Business Travel Executives”. Before joining Short’s Travel Management in 1995, LeCompte served in sales at Baxter Healthcare’s IV Division, launched Midwest Air Taxi, MyPlane (fractional plane ownership) and Art Classics. LeCompte was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, and currently lives in Whitefish, Montana. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in marketing and from the University of Iowa with an MBA. LeCompte is married to Stephanie. They have three children, Nathan, Meta and Caroline. | |
| Mr Andrew Watterson Senior Vice President of Network and Revenue Management Southwest Airlines Andrew Watterson serves the People of Southwest Airlines as Senior Vice President of Network and Revenue Management, a position he assumed in February, 2015. Watterson joined Southwest Airlines as Vice President of Network Planning and Performance in October 2013. Prior to that, Watterson was Vice President of Planning and Revenue Management at Hawaiian Airlines. Before Hawaiian, Watterson was with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman in Dallas for 12 years, serving as a partner in the aviation, aerospace, and defense practice; and three years with Ernst & Young in Atlanta and Paris serving clients in various industries as an operations management consultant. His background also includes four years of service in the U.S. Army. Mr. Watterson holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. | |
| Captain Paul Jackson President Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association Capt. Paul Jackson is the President of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA). He began serving his two-year term in January 2015. A Minnesota native and resident, he has been a pilot at Southwest Airlines since January 1994 and is currently based out of Chicago Midway (MDW). Capt. Jackson has chaired the Association’s Governmental Affairs Committee and Industry Research Committee the past several years and has been an active voice on Capitol Hill for commercial airline pilot professional issues. He developed and implemented the Association’s first National Airline Policy to help focus Association efforts in Congress. He has been instrumental in leading international aviation affairs, including work on opening the Mexican market for U.S. airlines as well as a large coalition fight against unfair foreign carrier competition in the U.S. market. He also worked on the recent integration of AirTran pilots into the Southwest pilot group. He helped negotiate the current Southwest pilot contract and served as Negotiating Committee Chair during the early stages of contract negotiations. As president, he will help lead Southwest pilots into their first-ever federal mediation scheduled to begin in early 2015. Capt. Jackson received his flight training in civil aviation. He brokers aircraft sales and leases, especially vintage aircraft. He has been co-host and operations director for The Flightline, an HD magazine show featuring small aircraft issues and special events. He has a bachelor’s degree in aviation from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota and is an avid hockey fan. | |
| Mr George Petsikas Senior Director, Government and Industry Affairs Transat A.T. George Petsikas is a native of Montreal. He is a lawyer and holds a Master of Laws degree from McGill University. Since 1990, George has worked for Montreal-based Transat A.T Inc., the world's fifth largest integrated holiday-travel and tourism services provider in terms of revenue, as well as for its airline unit Air Transat, Canada's second leading operator of international passenger air services. He currently holds the position of Senior Director, Government and Industry Affairs, and is responsible for all aviation policy, legislative and regulatory matters in over 60 countries worldwide where Transat operates, as well as for overall government, international and airline industry relations. He has participated in many of Canada's bilateral and multilateral air transport negotiating teams that concluded the landmark agreements with the United States and the European Union. From 2008 to 2013, George acted as the first president of the National Airlines Council of Canada, the industry trade association representing Canada's largest passenger airlines, and remains chairman of its executive committee responsible for overall operations and strategic policy. He is also co-founder of the National Travel and Tourism Roundtable, as well as a past chairman of the Canadian Bar Association's Air and Space Law Section, and a lecturer at McGill. | |
| Maria Chevalier Global Vice President, Corporate Incubation Travelport | |
| Mr Chris Engle Vice President Americas, Air Commerce Group Travelport Chris Engle manages all commercial relationships with airlines throughout the Americas region (United States, Canada, Latin and South America). Mr. Engle and his team help airlines take advantage of Travelport’s retailing innovations, such as Rich Content and Branding, within the Travelport Merchandising Platform. Mr. Engle joined Travelport in 2013 from Xerox Services (formerly ACS) where he served as vice president, new market development-Brazil. Previously Mr. Engle served as vice president of sales, global travel and transportation solutions. Mr. Engle began his career in the travel industry, first as a sales executive for American Airlines and then with Sabre Corporation. At Sabre, he was one of the sales leaders for the company’s first generation of corporate booking tools, Sabre Business Travel Solutions. Mr. Engle has a B.A. degree from the University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business, with an emphasis on marketing and international business. He lives in Florida and is fluent in Portuguese. | |
| Ms Dina Titus Congresswoman U.S. Representative Serving the First Congressional District of Nevada, Congresswoman Dina Titus has built a strong record of achievement as both an educator and a public servant. As a professor, Dina taught American and Nevada government classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for 34 years, until her retirement in June 2011. A noted non-fiction writer, she is internationally known for her expertise in the history and policies related to nuclear power, weaponry, and waste as well as for her knowledge of the popular lore of "Atomic Culture." In 1988, Dina was elected to represent the people of District Seven in the Nevada State Senate, serving as the Democratic Minority Leader from 1993 to 2008. During her service in the Nevada State Legislature, Dina was a champion for quality education and renewable energy development, and a strong advocate on behalf of Nevada’s children, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Dina has received numerous awards from various state and local organizations, but one of her proudest moments came in 2006 with the dedication of the Dina Titus Estates, an innovative affordable housing complex for disabled Nevadans, in recognition of Dina's tireless advocacy. In 2008, Dina was elected to represent the Third District of Nevada in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the 111th Congress, Dina served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and the Homeland Security Committee. She also served as Whip for the Western states and was a member of numerous issue caucuses. Dina returned to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 after being elected to represent the First District of Nevada. She is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where she currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA). Congresswoman Titus grew up in the small community of Tifton, Georgia, with her parents, Joe and Betty Titus, and her younger sister, Dr. Rho Hudson, who is currently a professor of special education at Nevada State College. Dina is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, holds a Master's degree from the University of Georgia, and earned her Doctorate at Florida State University. Dina has been married to Professor Thomas C. Wright for over 30 years. Tom, a Latin American Historian, received the prestigious UNLV Distinguished Professor award in 2008. John Wright Hall on campus is named for his father, pioneer professor at UNLV. | |
| Mr Roger J. Dow President & CEO U.S. Travel Association Roger Dow is president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the Washington, D.C.-based national umbrella organization representing all segments of travel in America—an industry responsible for generating $2.1 trillion in annual economic output. U.S. Travel’s mission is to increase travel to and within the United States. U.S. Travel addresses critical travel-related policy issues, including:
Dow was instrumental in championing the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act signed into law by President Obama in March 2010. The legislation established Brand USA, the highly effective national promotion program that attracts more international visitors to the U.S. Dow also launched the Project: Time Off initiative (formerly known as Travel Effect)—the multifaceted, research-driven campaign that helps policymakers and the public better understand the personal, business, social and economic benefits of taking earned time off. Dow and U.S. Travel are also leaders of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, a which provides resources to promote and defend the value of face-to-face business meetings and travel on our economy. Prior to joining U.S. Travel in 2005, Dow advanced through the ranks at Marriott International in a tenure spanning 34 years, where he rose to senior vice president of global and field sales. He serves, or has served, on the board of directors of ASAE, PCMA, ASAE Foundation, MPI Foundation, GWSAE, the Travel Institute and RE/MAX International, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100 and on the advisory boards of Arizona State University’s Center for Services Leadership and the University of Richmond Robins School of Business. Dow served in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, where he received the Bronze Star and other citations. Dow earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University and was honored as a Most Distinguished Alumnus in 2012. | |
| Mr Ralph A. Kaiser President, CEO & Chairman UATP Ralph Kaiser is President, CEO & Chairman of the Board of UATP. Appointed in 2003, he has launched and led several important UATP growth initiatives resulting in network charge volume growth of US$ 7 billion. Among these achievements is UATP’s new DataStream suite of products which has lowered the barrier to entry for Issuers and provided state-of-the-art data management tools to UATP corporate customers. Previous to his appointment as CEO, Kaiser was UATP General Counsel. Before joining UATP, Kaiser worked at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) as an advisor to the senior management and the Board of Directors for both organizations. He holds an MBA from the Carey School of Business at Johns Hopkins University and a law degree (JD) from the Emory University School of Law. | |
| Mr Manuel Ambriz Director of Strategy and Planning Volaris Manuel serves as Volaris' Director of Network Planning & Strategy. In this position he provides leadership for Route and Network Planning and Scheduling, Long Term Strategy and Transformational Projects. Manuel joined Volaris in 2006 and has served in a variety of positions in which he has helped Volaris grow from 4 to 51 aircraft. Previous to Volaris, Manuel worked for Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant. Manuel holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Monterrey Tech in Mexico and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. | |
| Mr Mike McNaney Vice-President, Environment, Fuel and Government Affairs WestJet Mike McNaney joined WestJet in 2006 and currently serves as Vice-President, Environment, Fuel and Government Affairs. Mike and his team are responsible for the development of WestJet’s environment policy and regulatory compliance, as well as security and contracting of fuel supply. Mike also works with Canadian and foreign governments as well as international organizations, to represent WestJet’s views on aviation policy issues including taxation, market access, emissions, and operations. He is a board member of the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). | |
| David Scowsill President & CEO World Travel & Tourism Council Prior to joining WTTC in November 2010, David worked for 6 years in private equity and venture capital, completing deals in technology and travel sectors. David was CEO of Opodo, pan-European online travel company from 2002 to 2004, building the business from start up to a €500mn transaction turnover, before it was sold to Amadeus. He joined the board of Hilton International in 1997 as senior VP sales, marketing and IT, leading the brand re-unification programme between the two Hilton shareholder companies. David rejoined British Airways from 1993 to 1997 as regional general manager Asia/Pacific. He established the Joint Service Agreement and global alliance with Qantas. He joined American Airlines in 1991 as managing director sales, Europe Middle East and Africa. David’s earlier career was with British Airways, with a variety of operational and sales roles in US, Europe, Latin America, Gulf States, Africa, and Asia. | |
| Dr Fred Lazar B.Com., M.A., Ph.D. Associate Professor York University, Schulich School of Business Currently: Associate Professor, Schulich School of Business and Department of Economics, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University. Member of Independent Review Committee of Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds; Director and Chair, Governance and Conduct Committee of CFF Bank (Canadian Scheculd A Bank); and Executive Advisor to Aviado Partners (airline consultants) Academic Research Interests: Strategy; Governance; Incentives and Compensation; First Nations Economic Development Consultant: For over 40 years, with 30 years in airline and aviation related activities. Among the airlines and other aviation organizations to whom I have consulted are: Air Canada, Australian Airlines, Jazz, Regional Airlines Holdings (dba Porter), Bulgaria Airlines, Qantas, Air North, Aeroplan, National Airlines Council of Canada, Canada Transport Act Review Committee, and Fiscalia Nacional Economica (Chile). Aviation Related Books and Articles:
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