This issue is all about fresh new faces. Some have been promoted to leading roles in the past several months to take on exciting new challenges at both airlines and airports – Badr Mohammed Al-Meer of Qatar Airways and Selahattin Bilgen at Istanbul Grand Airport.
Some are entirely new to the aviation business – Jennifer Aument of the New Terminal One at New York JFK. Others are new to the industry but are a name you may not have previously come across – Gautam Thakkar of Unifi.
Exploring the vision, strategy and aspirations of these leaders in the airline, airport and ground services arena is one of the best parts of my job. Each story is different, but the drive to deliver a legacy of success and growth is etched in each one.
A common theme in their stories is people. Gautam Thakkar of Unifi began our conversation with the stories of Naweed Rahimzada and Olga Borishkevich, both part of the Atlanta-based company’s far-sighted refugee hiring programme, launched in 2021 and going from strength to strength.
Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, from the outset of his tenure with the Qatar Airways v2.0, told employees in a personal letter that he wants “a culture of trust and empowerment. My vision as a CEO is to listen to the employees.”