AIRLINES
David Vance is now vice president cargo operations and managing director at American Airlines. Vance oversees all day-to-day freight and mail operations, including warehouse operations, facility management and regulatory compliance. He joined cargo from the legacy American’s customer operations planning team.
After having spent 14 years with Cargolux Airlines International, Robert van de Weg resigned as the airline’s senior vice president sales and marketing and as member of the executive committee due to differences with the board of directors regarding Cargolux’s strategy for the future. Henning zur Hausen, member of the executive committee and senior vice president legal affairs and compliance, assumed responsibility for the role on an interim basis. Peter van de Pas, the company’s senior vice president and COO, also resigned, effective March 31. No reason was given for the resignation.
The Qantas Group appointed Alison Webster as executive manager Qantas Freight. This follows Lisa Brock’s recent appointment as chief commercial officer of the Jetstar Group. Webster has held a range of senior commercial, sales, marketing and operational roles at Qantas and British Airways. She was most recently executive manager international customer experience.
Nadia Bastaki has been named vice president medical services at Etihad Airways, a new position. Bastaki has 10 years of experience as a medical practitioner and holds several post-graduate qualifications, joining Etihad in 2007. She is the first United Arab Emirates female citizen to be registered as an aviation medical specialist with the Health Authority Abu Dhabi.
David Maimon was appointed as president and CEO of EL AL Israel Airlines, effective March 20. Maimon will replace Elyezer Shkedy, who resigned after four years as president and CEO. Maimon has held several positions within EL AL over the past nine years and presently serves as vice president of commercial and industry affairs. Maimon and Shkedy will work together for a period to ensure a smooth and orderly transition.
Following Stefan Lauer’s resignation from the supervisory board of Fraport AG at the end of 2013, Lufthansa Cargo CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt was appointed as his successor. The court order was requested by Fraport AG in agreement with the the company’s majority owners, the state of Hesse and the city of Frankfurt. This appointment is valid until the Fraport Annual General Meeting on May 30, when the shareholders will decide on a permanent seat for Garnadt on the supervisory board.
ORGANIZATIONS
The International Air Transport Association appointed Conrad Clifford as regional vice president for Asia Pacific. Clifford will be based in IATA’s Asia Pacific Regional Office in Singapore. He succeeds Maunu von Lueders, who is retiring from IATA. Clifford’s career in aviation spans more than 30 years. Most recently, he worked at Antrak Air Ghana and was formerly CEO of Monarch Travel Group and of Virgin Nigeria. His career has also included work for Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Menzies Aviation Group and Emirates.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx appointed Steve Alterman and Lee Moak to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Management Advisory Council. The council advises the FAA on management, policy, spending and regulatory matters. Alterman is president of the Cargo Airline Association. Moak is president of the Air Line Pilots Association.
THIRD PARTIES
Geodis Wilson appointed Dean Devasia as global chief information officer. He will also join the freight management board. Devasia was previously CIO for the U.S. and acting regional CIO for the Americas region. He joined Geodis in 1991 and has held positions in operations, sales, IT and branch and regional management.
Air Partner, a provider of aviation services, appointed Colin Jowers as global director of business technology. Based in the UK, Jowers will be responsible for putting more of a focus on technology at Air Partner. Previously, he was global COO of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Banking and Markets Research and Strategy division. Prior to RBS, he worked at Dresdner Kleinwort’s Capital Markets Research business.
Greg Weigel is now vice president of global operations for AIT Worldwide Logistics. With more than 30 years of experience in the logistics and transportation industry, Weigel most recently served as executive vice president of global airfreight with CEVA Logistics.
AMI, a trade-only airfreight and express wholesaler, appointed Rinaldo Vels to the newly-created position of vice president Continental Europe. Vels has spent more than 10 years in the airfreight industry working for forwarders, AMI’s parent Menzies Aviation and, most recently, as commercial director of Jan de Rijk Logistics. In his new post, Vels will be responsible for developing AMI’s business throughout Continental Europe.
Swissport International promoted Tommy Watt to executive vice president UK and Ireland. Watt joined Swissport following the completion of the Swissport merger with Servisair on Dec. 23, 2013. In his new position, Watt is responsible for all ground handling and cargo handling activities of Swissport in the UK and Ireland, with a focus on a merger of the two companies. He joined Servisair in 1976 at Glasgow Airport and held a number of senior roles during his career.
FedEx Trade Networks, the freight forwarding arm of FedEx Corp., announced the appointment of James R. Muhs as the new president and CEO. Muhs has spent nearly 30 years in the international trade industry since beginning his career with FedEx in 1984. He has served in a variety of operations and executive management roles. Prior to joining FedEx Trade Networks, Muhs most recently served as senior vice president of U.S. international, global planning, engineering and trade services at FedEx Express, where he was responsible for the company’s U.S. export business.