Meet our speakers
Chief Executive Officer,
Qatar Airways
Akbar Al Baker has been instrumental in shaping the development of Qatar Airways into one of the fastest growing and most highly acclaimed airlines in the world.
Born in Doha, he is a graduate in Economics and Commerce and worked at various levels in the Civil Aviation Directorate before becoming Qatar Airways’ CEO in 1997.
Mr. Al Baker has, over the last decade, spearheaded the growth of Qatar Airways, which operated only four aircraft in a regional capacity prior to his appointment. Qatar Airways currently flies to more than 80 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Far East and North America.
He is also leading the development of the multi-billion dollar New Doha International Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2011.
A highly motivated individual, Mr. Al Baker has been a successful businessman in Doha for more than 25 years, holds a private pilot licence, and is also CEO of several divisions of Qatar’s national airline – these being Qatar Airways Holidays, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Duty Free Company, Doha International Airport, Qatar Distribution Company and Qatar Aircraft Catering Company.
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Hollingsworth Ala Ngwele, Chief Executive Officer,
Air Vanuatu
Hollingsworth Ala Ngwele joined Air Vanuatu in November 2007 as General Manager Projects and Strategic Planning. He was later appointed CEO in January 2008 to oversee the structural changes currently being undertaken by the Airline.
Born in Vanuatu, he is a graduate in Economics and Business Administration and worked at various levels at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji and Vanuatu before becoming Air Vanuatu’s CEO early this year.
Mr. Hollingsworth Ala Ngwele has, over the last decade, been instrumental in the establishment, development and growth of the University of the South Pacific’s School of Law. He was the Senior Assistant Registrar to the School and Campus Secretary at the University’s Emalus Campus in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
With a strong management background, his appointment to Air Vanuatu is seen as timely at a time when the Company is going through changing and demanding structural, operational, staffing and financial pressures.
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Chief Executive Officer,
Air Arabia
Adel Ali, together with the management team has been given credit for setting up the Middle East and North Africa’s first low-cost carrier (LCC), Air Arabia. Adel has brought over 25 years of strategic aviation, tourism and marketing experience to Air Arabia since the company commenced operations in October 2003. Adel’s distinctive leadership style, vision, skilful management combined with his charisma and zeal, makes him an inspiration to his team and has made Air Arabia one of the top 50 most admired companies in the Arab world.
Adel previously served as Vice President (Commercial and Customer Service) for Gulf Air, where he played a central role in the airline’s recovery. Before that, he spent over 20 years with British Airways where he also held senior management positions, including General Manager (Middle East and Africa).
In addition, Adel has served as a Director and a Senior Board Member for a number of companies in the Middle East and Europe. He has been recognised within the industry as a Middle East airline expert and has received awards for his contribution to air transport and tourism in the Middle East and Africa.
Adel innovative achievements has been globally recognized on creating a successful low cost business model in the Middle East customised as per region’s needs, marking Air Arabia as the first low-cost airline in the MENA region. Adel drove Air Arabia’s growth to become the largest low cost carrier in the Middle East as well as the first publicly owned airline in the Arab World with in a span of only five years.
Adel holds an MBA degree from Marlhurst University, Oregon, USA. He bagged ‘British Airways Award for Excellence’ and ‘Middle East Tourism Contribution Award’. In 1983 and 1991, he received ‘British Airways Customer Services Award’. In 2007, Adel has been awarded the ‘Airline CEO of the year’ by Aviation Business Magazine. He has been named world’s best LCC CEO during the World LCC Congress 2008. Adel is also the Chairman of Sharjah Information Systems Associates (ISA) and Alpha Sharjah catering.
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Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director,
Brisbane Airport Corporation Ltd
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Managing Director,
Adelaide Airport Ltd
Phil’s career in aviation dates back 41 years to 1966 when he left school. His first job was with the airline that later became British Caledonian Airways. His career has taken him to all parts of the world and he has worked in airlines, handling companies and latterly airports – initially Manchester Airport plc and since 1998 Adelaide Airport Ltd, where he is Managing Director.
Phil has recently held Directorships with Queensland Airports Ltd (Gold Coast, Mt. Isa and Townsville Airports), Tourism Task Force and the Australian British Chamber of Commerce (SA). He is Chairman of Adelaide Convention and Tourism Authority.
Phil was awarded the Centenary Medal for “services to the community” in 2001, was honoured with the 2004 award of Australian Airports Association “Aviation Personality of the Year” and the 2006 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, South Australian ‘Achiever of the Year.
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Executive General Manager International (East),,
Tourism Australia
As Executive General Manager International (East) based in Sydney office, Richard Beere is responsible for managing Tourism Australia’s overseas operations across the key regions of Asia, Japan, and the Gulf Countries.
The role involves management of key tourism flow issues, global partnerships and distribution development, market intelligence and knowledge as well as day to day involvement with Tourism Australia’s international offices.
Richard has had 28 years experience in the tourism industry, encompassing all aspects of retail, marketing, product development, destination promotion, trade event management, business tourism, management and operations.
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Tengku Dato' Azmil Zahruddin bin Raja Abdul Aziz, Chief Financial Officer ,
Malaysia Airlines
He was appointed to MAS Board on 23 August 2004, then as Executive Director on 23 August 2005 and later as Executive Director/CFO on 1 February, 2006.
He was the Managing Director/ Chief Financial Officer of Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB) prior to that. Before PMB, he was with Pricewaterhousecoopers in their London and Hong Kong offices, where he was in the Audit and Business Advisory Services division, specialising in Banking and Capital Markets. While in Pricewaterhousecoopers, he was involved in a number of audit and advisory assignments involving risk management advisory, IPOs, structured transactions and derivatives products.
He graduated from the University of Cambridge with double first class honours in Economics. He is a Chartered Accountant and an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and also an associate of the Association of Corporate Treasurers,United Kingdom.
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Group General Manager Environment and Fuel Conservation,
Qantas Airways
Is Group General Manager Environment and Fuel Conservation for Qantas Airways Ltd. His department was responsible for developing a clear Climate Change Strategy for the Qantas Group, and to ultimately influence $the organisation in implementing actions associated with key parts of that strategy. Peter's department was lead in developing the Qantas Groups carbon offset program, and is responsible for delivering significant fuel and emission savings. Peter's main focus over the short term, apart from environmental compliance and other general day to day sustainability issues, is to position the organisation appropriately in a post carbon trading environment. Peter has worked in senior finance and commercial roles in Toyota, Boral, Metal Manufactures and James Hardie before joining the Qantas Group in 2003.
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Chief Commercial Officer,,
Oman Air
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Chief Executive Officer,
Jetstar Airways
Bruce Buchanan was appointed CEO of Jetstar commencing 1 October 2008.
Bruce participated in the establishment of Jetstar in 2003 and its subsequent launch in May 2004 and has been a critical driver of the expansion of the Jetstar brand and operations both domestically and internationally.
Bruce was previously Group General Manager Commercial, responsible for Jetstar’s network planning, marketing, pricing, sales and distribution, government relations, strategy and commercial systems.
He has helped oversee the rapid development of Jetstar from its original business case, to its brand and operational launch – seen as one of Australia’s most successful – and through a sustainable expansion.
Bruce managed the development of Jetstar’s value based long haul international model which successfully launched in November 2006 as well as the establishment of the Jetstar brand through commercial partnership with Jetstar Pacific based in Vietnam.
Jetstar’s Australian operations now serve 20 domestic Australian and 10 international destinations from Australia with an existing fleet of 31 A320 family aircraft and 6 A330-200 aircraft.
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Managing Director,
Tourism Futures International
Bob Cain is Managing Director of Tourism Futures International. For the past 18 years Bob has been a Director and consultant with TFI.
During this period he has managed a wide range of consulting assignments including strategy development, forecasting, market and route development. Clients have included airports, airlines, tourism agencies, investors, investment banks and funds managers. He has worked on projects in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Asia and in the Middle East.
Prior to becoming a consultant, Bob was Strategic Planning Director at Qantas Airways Limited where he was responsible for group wide strategic planning and Government relations. Prior to aviation Bob held a number of senior management roles in telecommunications.
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Managing Director ,
Queensland Airports Limited
Dennis Chant is the Managing Director of Queensland Airports Limited. With over 35 years experience in aviation, maritime and tourism industries in Australia and globally, Dennis was responsible for management and development of Cairns International Airport following its transfer from the Federal Government to the Cairns Port Authority in 1981. More recently, Dennis and his team have been responsible for acquiring Townsville and Mount Isa Airport which, in addition to the Gold Coast Airport, makes Queensland Airports Ltd the largest operator of regional airports in Australia.
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Regional Vice President,
SITA Information Networking Computing BV
Paul Dalton was appointed the Regional Vice President, Sales and Relationship Management (North Asia and Pacific), in mid-2006, as the new single SITA organization came into being.
In his current role, Paul has responsibilities in the areas of customer relationship, sales and account management and a geographical coverage which spans across the North Asia and Pacific region. This covers all SITA products and services provided by its three business units: Airport and Desktop Services (ADS), Passenger and Travel Solutions (PTS), and Communication Services. He heads a team of sales and customer service professionals catering to the airport, airline and government sectors generating annual revenue of $160 million.
Prior to this, Paul was the Regional Vice President (South East Asia, Australasia and Pacific) for the former division, SITA Information Networking Computing (SITA INC), from September 2003, where he was responsible for sales and marketing activities in the ASEAN countries, Australasia and the Pacific islands.
Based in Singapore, Paul first joined SITA in 2002 as the Regional Vice President (Australasia and Pacific) where he headed the sales and marketing for the region. In addition, he led the Government Sector in the Asia Pacific region with particular emphasis on Border Security.
Before joining SITA, Paul spent nine years with Telstra Corporation where he held a number of management positions in Sales and Marketing. He was on the Board of Investment 2000, a joint venture company which supported foreign investment in Australia, leveraging the Olympic Games in 2000. He left Telstra as the Director of Sales for Small and Medium Business
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Managing Director,
Regional Express Airlines
Mr. Davis is a qualified Aeronautical Engineer and worked for four years with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority before obtaining his Air Transport Pilot Licence. Since then he has flown professionally with airlines in Australia and overseas for some 25 years. Upon joining Hazelton Airlines in 1999, he was appointed Flight Operations and Standards Manager and Deputy Chief Pilot for the airline. In 2001, Mr. Davis was promoted to Chief Pilot of Hazelton, and held that position when Hazelton was merged into and began trading as part of Rex in 2002. Mr. Davis became Executive General Manager Operations in 2003, and subsequently Managing Director Operations. Mr. Davis became Chief of Staff in the Chairman’s Office in 2007 and was appointed Managing Director in May 2008. Mr. Davis is Chairman of the Australian Airline Pilot Academy Pty Ltd. He also sits on the Aviation Safety Forum, an advisory body to the CEO of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
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General Manager,
Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited
Dr. Dong Zhiyi, President and CEO of Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd (BCIA), Director of the Airports Council International (ACI). Dr. Dong has more than 20 years’ experience in civil aviation and airport management. He had held leading posts in Civil Aviation Authority and subordinate enterprises before joined BCIA. Furthermore, as an officer of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, he led Beijing Capital International Airport Venue Team, providing secure, efficient, smooth and high quality departure and arrival service for the Olympic family members.
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Former Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific,
IATA
In July ’07 Mr. Drysdale completed a 6 year contract as the Asia/Pacific Regional Vice president for IATA based in Singapore and as Chairman of IATA India Ltd... He recently participated in a study for ASEAN on liberalization of Air Services and co-coordinated the Royal Aeronautical Society’s response to the Australian Government paper on Aviation policy. He is currently involved in the creation of a major Aviation Training Institute in India and has delivered a number of papers on Aviation and the Environment..
Mr. Drysdale was for 10 years Managing Director of Air Pacific during a period of major strategic change, growth and profitability. He also served as C.E.O. of Fiji based Blue Lagoon Cruises, tour wholesaler Tapa Tours, Australia’s Captain Cook Cruises and of Hazelton Airlines. He is a former Aircraft engineer and held licenses on a wide range of aircraft.
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Executive General Manager, Government and Corporate Affairs,
Qantas Airways
David Epstein joined Qantas in December 2008 as Group Executive Government and Corporate Affairs. He is a member of the Qantas Group Executive Committee.
Mr Epstein’s career includes work in government, as a corporate adviser and in the telecommunications industry. Before joining Qantas, Mr Epstein was Chief of Staff to Australia’s Prime Minister the Hon Kevin Rudd (2007 – 2008).
His background in federal government also includes staff positions with two Cabinet Ministers and six years as Federal Government media director during the Hawke and Keating Governments. In 1996, he joined the staff of the Leader of Opposition the Hon Kim Beazley to become Chief of Staff (1997 - 1999).
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General Manager,
Aviation Security Service New Zealand
Mark Everitt was a sworn Police Officer for 21 years spending eight years at Police National Headquarters. He was responsible for the development of Intelligence Analysis, introducing computers to assist the management of serious crime investigations, and establishing the Police Helicopter Operations, becoming the first National Co-ordinator. He was appointed General Manager of the Aviation Security Service in 1993 and reports to the Chairman and the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority. The Service now has a team of trained personnel, providing security requirements for 33 Airlines at 8 New Zealand Airports. In April 2000 The Aviation Security Service was recognized as the most outstanding Aviation Security Organisation Asia/Pacific, Mark receiving the individual award of outstanding Avsec Official. These awards coordinated by Edith Cowan University and Singapore Airlines. In 2004 The International Civil Aviation Organisation (I.C.A.O.) invited the Aviation Security Service to establish an I.C.A.O. Training Centre at Auckland. The centre provides a range of Courses for the Asia/Pacific Region.
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Partner,
Heidrick & Struggles
Guy Farrow specialises in the energy, infrastructure, aviation and transport & logistics sectors. In addition, he also heads Heidrick & Struggles’ Industrial practice in Australia.
Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Guy spent more than 10 years working in aviation. He has held senior managerial positions with American Airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and Regional Express.
Guy held several general manager positions in the airports division at Qantas, increasing operational efficiency and profits as well as managing airport design and construction.
As general manager of airports business development at Qantas, he created the strategy for the airports division. In this role, he managed the division’s global investments in terminal infrastructure, built retail revenues at Qantas’s domestic terminals and negotiated ground handling agreements. Guy also led the oneworld airports project covering co-location, joint procurement and product initiatives across nine alliance members at more than 650 airports worldwide.
As general manager of airports competitive tendering for Qantas, Guy was involved in re-structuring the management and operation at 14 domestic airports, resulting in a 27 per cent reduction in operating costs.
During the start-up of Jetstar, Guy provided strategic advice with a focus on airport operations. He negotiated new airport charges in Australia on behalf of Jetstar and worked to ensure all airport infrastructure requirements were met in time for the launch of the airline. Guy was also involved in the negotiations which saw Avalon Airport established as a secondary airport serving the Melbourne market.
In addition to his infrastructure and aviation experience, Guy has consulted with Bain & Company and Port Jackson Partners.
He has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a major in marketing. He also holds a Bachelor of Business (honours) degree from the University of Hawaii, majoring in international business.
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Executive General Manager, Strategy and Investments,
Qantas
Grant Fenn was appointed to the role of Executive General Manager, Strategy and Investments in October 2008. In this role, Grant is responsible for all group strategy initiatives including fleet and long term network planning, Qantas’ Three Year Plan and mergers and acquisitions. Grant also oversees all current and future equity investments including Star Track Express, Australian air Express, Air Pacific and Jetset Travelworld.
In addition to this, Grant is responsible for Qantas Freight Enterprises which
incorporates the Group’s existing Freight business, and the Group’s freight
expansion plans in Australia and Asia. Previous roles at Qantas include Executive General Manager Associated Businesses (which involved managing 4 major divisions - Airports, Catering, Freight & Qantas Holidays) and Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Grant has been a Member of the Qantas Executive Committee since November 2000. Grant is a Board Member of Australian Air Express and Star Track Express. In June 2007, Grant was appointed Chairman of DPEX Worldwide, an Asian based Expressfreight company. Prior to joining Qantas, Grant was a Senior Manager at KPMG.
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Chief Executive Officer,
Virgin Blue
Brett Godfrey is the Chief Executive of Virgin Blue Holdings Limited. He co-founded Virgin Blue in 2000, when it started with two aircraft. It is now a major Australian airline with 30% of the domestic market and 63 jets. The three airlines that form the Virgin Blue Group provide air services to 24 Australian cities and nine international destinations in the Pacific. The airline has also announced it will launch V Australia Airlines, a three class boutique style long haul carrier, to operate trans-Pacific flights from December 2008. V Australia will operate a fleet of brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and Sydney-Los Angeles has been confirmed as the launch route
Mr Godfrey is also a Director of the Board of WestJet, Canada's leading low-fare airline offering scheduled service to 33 cities in North America.
Prior to conceptualising and launching Virgin Blue Airlines in August 2000, Mr Godfrey had a 12 year career in aviation and finance which included appointments as Chief Financial Officer of Belgium based Virgin Express; Finance Manager of Virgin Atlantic based in London and Group Financial Controller of Sherrard/National Jet, in Melbourne. He started his career as a Chartered Accountant with accountancy firm Touche Ross.
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Chief Information Officer,
Qantas
Jamila Gordon was appointed the Qantas Group’s Chief Information Officer on September 2007.
Ms Gordon has broad ranging experience in the global IT industry and the expertise in managing complex outsourced arrangements necessary to lead the next stage of Qantas’ IT transformation.
Ms Gordon came to Qantas from IBM where she held several senior executive roles, managing some of the world´s largest strategic outsourcing initiatives in France and the Netherlands.
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Mr Adrian Hamilton-Manns, General Manager - Commercial,
Pacific Blue
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Executive Chairman,
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
Peter Harbison is Executive Chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (often known as CAPA). He established the Centre in 1990. Today it is the world’s most prolific aviation publishing house, currently producing 14 aviation industry newsletters, market analysis and numerous country reports and maintaining several aviation websites. Peter is a well-known aviation consultant and commentator on Asia Pacific aviation issues. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the nature and function of international, domestic and regional aviation industry and market structures, the drivers of tourism growth and development, the value chain and bilateral air services negotiations, underpinned by a background in law and economic regulatory affairs and experience in international and domestic regulation. Peter’s career in aviation comprises more than 35 years, in government and the aviation industry, including two years with the Australian mission to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal and 10 years at a senior level in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Geneva. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted more than 200 consultancy projects either as project manager or senior advisor, from the Middle East, India, China and most parts of Asia to the South Pacific.
CAPA’s subsidiary, CAPA India, is in the process of developing the world’s first comprehensive aviation training campus, CAPA AeroPark, in India.
Peter is President of the Australian Aviation Council (AUSAC), former Chairman of IATA’s World Aviation Regulation Monitoring Group, which produced a major report on the issue of Ownership and Control in the global aviation industry, immediate past President of the Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand and a former IATA Travel Agency Commissioner. He is also a Board Member of the Foundation on Antivirals.
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Following an approach from the Government of Oman, he was delighted to take up the post of CEO Oman Air and is now busily working on creating a world class airline based in Muscat, focused upon developing a network of sustainable air services that will promote the Sultanate’s growing leisure and business travel markets
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President,
Australian & International Pilots Association
Captain Barry Jackson joined Qantas in 1987 as a Second Officer on the B747 Classic. Over the course of Barry’s career with Qantas he has spent time on the B767, B744, A330 and is currently flying the A380.
Barry has spent a number of years as a training Captain, and completed a Bachelor of Aviation in 2006.
In 2002 Barry was elected to the Committee of Management of the Australian & International Pilots Association (AIPA). Representing almost 2,500 Qantas Group technical flight crew in both domestic and international operations, AIPA is the largest professional body of airline pilots in Australia. Barry was elected as AIPA President in 2008, and prior to this held the positions of AIPA Assistant Secretary, Vice-President and Secretary.
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Chief Executive Officer,
Qantas Airways
Alan Joyce was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Qantas on 28 November 2008. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer Designate and to the Qantas Board on 28 July 2008.
He is a former Director of Orangestar Investment Holdings Pte Limited (holding company of Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and Valuair) and Jetstar Pacific Airlines Aviation Joint Stock Company (in Vietnam).
Mr Joyce was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar in October 2003.
Prior to his appointment at Jetstar, Mr Joyce spent over 15 years in leadership positions for full service carriers Qantas, Ansett and Aer Lingus.
At both Qantas and Ansett, he led the Network Planning, Schedules Planning and Network Strategy functions. Prior to that, Mr Joyce spent eight years at Aer Lingus, Ireland's national carrier, where he held a number of roles in Sales, Marketing, IT, Network Planning, Operations Research, Revenue Management and Fleet Planning.
Mr Joyce holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science (Physics and Mathematics) (Honours) and a Master of Science in Management Science. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
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Chief Executive Officer,
Northern Territory Airports
Ian Kew has been the Chief Executive Officer of Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd for the last seven years.
After graduating with an Economics Degree from Monash University, Ian joined Exxon for two years and then worked for Shell Australia prior twenty years prior to joining NT Airports.
At Shell Australia, Ian worked in a variety of oil marketing, operations, change management, strategy and special project positions in Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Melbourne.
Ian sits on the Board of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra (where he was the previous Chair for six years), the Board of the publicly listed company CSG Limited and also the Board of the Australian Airports Association (AAA).
He is married to Jill and they have three children.
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Chief Executive Officer,
Qantas Staff Credit Union
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Senior Vice President Commercial Operations,
Qatar Airways
Marwan Koleilat is airline industry expert with over 30 years experience in global aviation. He is currently based in Singapore and oversees Qatar Airways’ commercial operations in East Asia & South Pacific regions, assuming charge of 16 Stations and over 350 staff.
Koleilat joined Qatar Airways in March 1997 as a Sales & Marketing Manager based at its head office in Doha. He has since worked in several positions within the company and has been one of the instrumental figures in the development of Qatar Airways’ Far East network.
He has held various sales and managerial positions across a number of markets in the Middle East and Asia and previously spent over 10 years with Singapore Airlines.
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Born in 1959, Mr. Kotil graduated from Aeronautical Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in 1983. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1991. After founding and managing the Aviation and Advanced Composite Laboratories of ITU, he also served as chair and associate dean of Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering.
He served as the Head of Research Planning and Coordination Department in Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul.
Going to US for a second time in 2001, he served as guest professor in the University of Illinois, followed by a position of Research Engineer in Advanced Innovative Technologies Inc, in Troy, New York, between 2002 and 2003.
Dr. Kotil started his career with Turkish Airlines in 2003, as the Deputy General Manager in Turkish Technic, Inc. He became the CEO of Turkish Airlines in 2005. Dr. Kotil has served on the Board of Governors of IATA since 2006.
Mr. Kotil, married with 4 children, has many articles and publications in the aeronautical science journals, and papers in seminars and conferences.
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Partner,
Heidrick & Struggles
Stephen began his career in Executive Search with Amrop International in Sydney in 1996. He transitioned from ‘poacher’ to ‘gamekeeper’ for his clients with the introduction of Leadership Advisory services in the industry in 1998 and has specialised in advising Boards and CEOs in succession due diligence and senior executive development since this time.
Stephen has advised on major management assessment, development and succession programs internationally for the Boards, CEOs and Top Teams of some of the region’s largest organisations in the Banking, Resources, Media, Foods, Technology and Entertainment industries. Within this he has been responsible for the individual support to many Chairmen, CEOs and ‘C-Suite’ teams. Among many, organisations such as Qantas, Brambles, CBA and News Corporation have made fullest use of his specialised services.
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Head of IT & e-commerce,
Tiger Airways Pte Ltd
Mark Lim is the Head of IT and Infrastructure at Tiger Airways, Singapore's true low fare airline. He's been with the company since 2005, and has presided over a period of tremendous infrastructure and technological growth for the young airline. Tiger Airways has since introduced a new online reservation system, a new website, and operates out of two international bases while flying to over 25 destinations in a burgeoning Pan-Asian and Australian market. Keeping the company's technology reliable, dynamic and nimble while keeping costs down has been a legendary specialty of his department. Before working at Tiger, Mark spent over 10 years in Silicon Valley, where his experience was honed in the entrepreneurial environment of technology start-ups. His work included technologies that would eventually become the core components of Disney's massive Go.com network and the Lycos search portal. And in 2002, he established his own systems integration company in San Jose, California. Mark graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University with a degree in Management Information Systems. He has never climbed Everest, and probably never will.
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Head of Online Sales,
Qantas Airways
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Chief Executive Officer,
Jetstar Pacific
Mr. Nam, PhD in Economics, studied in the former Soviet Union during 1981-1990, joined Vietnam's flag carrier in late 1990. He was Vietnam Airlines' Director Marketing Planning between 1993 and 2004 responsible for network & fleet planning, industry cooperation and alliances, marketing, frequent flyer program. Mr. Nam joined Pacific Airlines as Managing Director on 01 July 2008 and led the company's ownership and business model restructuring program under leadership of Vietnam's Ministry of Finance and State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC). Pacific Airlines made its transformation into LCC on 13 Feb 2007 and sold 30% of its shares to Qantas Airways, the first tranche of which was completed on 30 Jul 2007. With investments from SCIC and Qantas, Pacific Airlines has started its domestic expansion and planned for international expansion from mid 2008.
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Chief Executive Officer,
Viva Macau
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Chief Executive Officer ,
Dunedin International Airport
John is the Chief Executive of Dunedin International Airport Limited. With an engineering and general management background both in New Zealand and overseas, in 1988 he joined New Zealand’s airport industry in Dunedin to undertake the restructuring and transition of Dunedin’s airport from a non-commercial local and central government enterprise to a public corporate entity with commercial and customer focused objectives. Since 1989 John has also been involved in the wider commercial aviation community in New Zealand and is a past president of the Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand. John is an Associate Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management, is a director of Tourism Dunedin and Taieri Gorge Railway Limited, and a board member of Dunedin City Council’s “Project Gateway”, an economic development initiative for growing air services to Dunedin.
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Chief Financial Officer & Group General Manager Corporate,
Air New Zealand
Rob started his finance career as a commerce graduate with a large Building Products company in 1980. He worked abroad before joining Coopers and Lybrand in the corporate advisory and valuation practice in 1985. Rob took up the position of Group Financial Planning Manager at Air New Zealand in 1993 and was appointed Group Treasurer in 1995. Upon the merger of Ansett and Air New Zealand Rob was appointed Vice President and Group Treasurer and in October 2004 was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Air New Zealand. Robert graduated from Auckland University with a Bachelor of Commerce and is a member of the Accounting Institute of New Zealand and the Society of Corporate Treasurers. In 1999, Robert completed the Program of Management Development at Harvard Business School.
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Secretary,
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Local Government
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Chief Executive Officer (Aviation),
India Fly Safe Aviation
Suresh Nair is CEO of India Fly Safe Aviation Ltd heading one of the biggest air charter companies in India. Formally with Paramount Airways as Vice President Commercial, Suresh has been holding key management positions with some of the top airlines in the World for the last 28 years. Suresh started with Cathay Pacific Airways when they started their operations to India first in Bangalore and later in New Delhi looking after North India and Nepal. He later joined Jet Airways as General Manager North India Nepal and Pakistan in 1996 based in New Delhi, at the time when Jet was growing very fast. He moved to Dubai in 2001 when Delta Airlines started their Dubai operations. He later came back to India in 2003 and was Head of Sales India for Virgin Atlantic Airways.
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Founder & CEO,
SimpliFlying
Shashank Nigam is a well respected airline marketing and branding strategist referred to by branding gurus as “a future business leader to watch”. He authors an award-winning blog on airline branding at SimpliFlying.com. His seminal 6X airline branding model was First published by Interbrand’s Brandchannel.com. He is currently building the world’s First global Airline Brand Index based on this model.
Shashank has been sharing his pioneering methodologies through airline consulting assignments, global publications and speaking engagements. He is also the contributing author of two highly acclaimed books on branding published by Wiley.
Shashank currently also is the Global Lead for the Brand Strategy Practice at Airline Capital Associates in New York City. Shashank studied Information Systems Management and Business Management at Singapore Management University and Carnegie Mellon University. He currently resides in Boston and Singapore.
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Deputy Secretary, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government,,
Australian Government
Lyn O’Connell is a Deputy Secretary with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Lyn’s responsibilities include Australia’s investment in infrastructure and the oversight of transport security.
Prior to her appointment at Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Lyn was a Senior Executive at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship with responsibility for reforming Australia’s detention practices.
Lyn has held a number of senior executive positions in both public and private sectors covering issues such as immigration, health, indigenous affairs and information technology.
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Head of Internal Market, Air Transport Agreements and Multilateral Relations, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport,
European Commission
Olivier Onidi is Head of the Unit “Internal Market, Air Transport Agreements and multilateral Relations”, in the Directorate General for Energy & Transport at the European Commission.
He has worked for some 15 years at the European Commission, as Assistant to Directors General in the areas of Energy & Transport, External Relations, the Secretariat General and of the Commissioner for Research and Development, Innovation, Education and Training.
At present, Mr. Onidi is head of the unit responsible for the definition and the oversight of the Single European aviation market, the conclusion of international agreements and the conduct of multilateral relations.
Prior to that he was in charge of the GALILEO satellite navigation system as well as intelligent transport infrastructures.
Before joining the Commission, he worked as Adviser to the Executive Committee of Belgacom and as Public Policy Manager at American Express International.
Mr. Onidi holds a Master of Science in Economics, a Master in European Studies and a B.A. in Business Administration.
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Chief Executive Officer,
AirAsia X
Azran was recently appointed as Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia X, a new airline based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia focused on providing long-haul low-cost services in 2007. AirAsia X is an associate of AirAsia Berhad, the leading short-haul low-lost carrier in Southeast Asia, carrying 18 million passengers annually across a network of over 70 destinations. Prior to his appointment, Azran was formerly a Senior Director of Business Development of Astro All Asia Networks plc, a leading Asian digital satellite television and radio broadcaster, where he led the start-up and operational launch of Astro’s international investments and joint ventures across Southeast Asia, India and Greater China – having oversight management responsibility for a portfolio of over US$300 million invested in these businesses. He was also responsible for Astro’s corporate and regulatory affairs functions, overseeing management of Astro’s key stakeholders. Prior to ASTRO, Azran led the demutualization exercise of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, transforming it into a for-profit corporation in preparation for its eventual public listing. Azran was formerly an Associate Partner of McKinsey & Company, an international management consultancy, where he co-led its Asia Pacific Corporate Finance & Strategy practice. His client work focused on engineering, technology and services companies, and he was active in the development of the venture capital and technology start-ups in Malaysia. He holds a Masters degree in Management Science and a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, both from Stanford University. He is a competitive ultimate frisbee player.
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Senior Revenue Manager,
Spanair
Frederic is the Senior Revenue Manager of Spanair, a Star Alliance airline that operates mostly to Spain, Germany and Scandinavia. Spanair currently operates to 60 destinations. Its head-quarters is in Palma, Balearic Islands.
Prior to hold a Senior Manager position, Frederic was RM Strategy manager where he helped to select, implement and calibrate a new Revenue Management system. Frederic also personally trained the team.
Before joining Spanair, Frederic worked as Route Controller, Flight Analyst and later Revenue Manager at Virgin Express and SN Brussels Airlines, two carriers based in Brussels.
Frederic has extensive knowledge in Revenue Management and Revenue Management systems.
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Managing Director,
Tiger Airways
Shelley Roberts, Managing Director of Tiger Airways Australia, has over 8 years experience in the aviation industry in both airline and airport management. Reporting directly to Tiger Aviation Group CEO and President Tony Davis, Shelley is responsible for the strategic development of Tiger Airways Australia, as well as the operation of its Melbourne and Adelaide bases. Shelley joined Tiger Airways Australia in July 2008.
Before joining Tiger Airways, Shelley established her reputation as an esteemed member of the Australian Aviation Industry as a Director of Sydney Airport Corporation Limited and the Asset Director for Macquarie Airports.
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GM, Network Planning,
Malaysia Airlines
Mr. Saw joined Malaysia Airlines in 1979 as Economist (Projects) and has more than 25 years of airline experience in project evaluation, business planning, passenger and cargo forecasting, research and network development.
He was also seconded to Orient Airlines Association (which is now known as Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines) as Director of Research & Statistic from 1992 to 1994 based in Manila, Philippines.
As GM Network Planning, he is responsible for Malaysia Airlines 5-Year Network and Fleet Plan, Annual Network Plan & Strategy, Network Development & Research, Market Planning & Network Financial Planning.
He plays a pivotal role in determining the replacement aircraft for the B737-400 fleet in 2007. Currently he is involved in the widebody fleet replacement exercise for MAS.
Prior to joining Malaysia Airlines, he was a bank officer. Mr. Saw graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) with major in Business Administration from University Malaya in 1977.
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Global Chair, KPMG's Aviation practice,
KPMG
Martin is a Partner in the KPMG audit practice with 19 years auditing experience. Martin has audited a broad range of companies across most industry segments. After starting his career working solely with banking and finance clients, Martin moved to specialise solely in transportation.
Martin is the Chairman of the KPMG Global Airline Group, facilitating knowledge sharing across a broad network of aviation clients. He is also a member of KPMG’s Global Transport Steering Group.
Martin heads up KPMG’s Transport Group in Australia.
Martin is the Co-Chairman of the IATA Airline Accounting Policy taskforce and has been instrumental in drafting and publishing accounting guidelines specifically for the aviation sector. He has been a key note speaker at IATA conferences and other industry seminars. He is in regular contact with KPMG’s network of airline specialists which provide advice to Qantas, KLM, Cathay Pacific, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, Ryanair, America West and China Southern to name a few
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Vice President of Revenue Management,
Jet Airways
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Director - Organisation Development & Strategy,
Tourism Tasmania
Rowan Sproule is Director of Strategy and Operational Performance with Tourism Tasmania and since 1996 has held senior roles in that organisation covering tourism development, industry strategy, market research, air and sea access, investment facilitation and partnership development.
He has been instrumental in the development of the current approach to regional tourism in Tasmania including the concept of tourism clusters and touring route approach to destination development, the enhancement of Tourism Tasmania’s research capability and has undertaken the lead role with the development of the ten year vision for the widely acclaimed industry strategy, Tourism 21.
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Chief Information Officer,
Jetstar Airways
Steve has the responsibility for the delivery of Jetstar technologies and innovation to support the rapidly changing and evolving Jetstar business.
An experienced member of the IT business community with over 30 Years in IT, delivering business systems solutions and management across a number industry sectors and geographies.
Steve focuses his management and leadership skills in challenging the conventional thinking, to deliver greater business services and opportunities whilst minimising the costs of operation.
Steve was selected as the Australian Financial Review; MIS Magazine’s private sector CIO of the year for 2007.
Prior to Joining Jetstar Steve was a director of professional services and has demonstrated a successful track record of achievement in building dynamic and effective IT business teams focused on services and delivery.
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Managing Director and CEO,
Melbourne Airport
Chris was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of APAC
in August 2007.
Chris has over 18 years experience in the aviation industry having
joined BAA in 1989 as a Retail Manager.
He held a number of senior management positions within BAA, including:
• CEO – Budapest Airport
• Operations Director – Heathrow Airport
• Retail Director – Gatwick and Heathrow Airports
• Managing Director – World Duty Free Inflight
• General Manager – Gatwick North Terminal
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