Routes Americas 2017

The route development forum for the Americas

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
14 – 16 February 2017

Strategy Summit Speakers

John Slattery

President & CEO, Embraer

John Slattery (48) is President and Chief Executive Officer at Embraer Commercial Aviation.

John joined Embraer in early 2011 as Vice President, responsible for Customer Finance; Asset & Risk Management. The following year John was appointed SVP and Chief Commercial Officer, taking on broader executive responsibilities incorporating worldwide sales of commercial aircraft and services. Since joining Embraer, John has been a board director at ECC Leasing, Embraer's wholly owned leasing company.

Prior to joining Embraer, John spent fifteen years in executive and leadership roles at various commercial aerospace advisory, leasing, and banking organizations. Of note, in 2001, John was a co-founded of RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC Aviation Capital) and the firm's Managing Director in New York, responsible for leading the bank's commercial aircraft leasing and asset-backed lending to airline customers across the Americas.

John is a Fellow of The Royal Aeronautical Society, President Emeritus of The Wings Club and Director Emeritus of ORBIS International.

An AMP graduate of Harvard Business School, John was awarded an M.B.A. from the University of Limerick, and a BA from the University of South Wales.

A native of Ireland, John lives in São José dos Campos, Brazil with his wife and two children.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Roger Dow

President & CEO, USTA

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 champions a pro-connectivity, pro-growth, pro-traveler agenda, and advocates for policies that reduce barriers to travel and improve America’s travel infrastructure. In addition, the association provides essential research, such as the monthly Travel Trends Index, and engages, connects and informs the travel industry at events year-round.

On several occasions, Dow has met with President Obama, administration officials and congressional leaders to discuss important travel issues, and his efforts have resulted in major legislative victories for travelers. In particular, he was instrumental in establishing Brand USA, the highly effective national promotion program, which was reauthorized through 2020 by Congress.

In 2014, Dow launched Project: Time Off, a multifaceted, research-driven initiative aimed at shifting American culture so time off is understood as essential to personal well-being, professional success, business performance and economic expansion. This new venture builds on other successes during Dow’s tenure, including the growth of U.S. Travel’s annualIPW international marketplace, each of which generates $4.7 billion in direct bookings to U.S. destinations over the following three years. Additionally, Dow and U.S. Travel are both leaders of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, which provides resources to promote and defend the value of face-to-face business meetings and travel on our economy.

Under Dow’s leadership, U.S. Travel has been recognized as one of Washington’s top places to work by both the Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine two years in a row (2015 and 2016).

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 has held seats on the boards of ASAE, ASAE Foundation, PCMA, MPI Foundation, GWSAE, the Travel Institute, RE/MAX International and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100.

Dow served in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, where he received the Bronze Star and other citations. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University and was honored as a Most Distinguished Alumnus in 2012. In addition, he holds an honorary degree from Johnson and Wales University.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

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 tranaction 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.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Andres Fabre

Chief Executive Officer, Aeromar Airlines

Andres is now Chief Executive Officer at Aeromar Airlines, the leading regional airline in Mexico, and is in charge of the restructuring, transformation and growth of the airline.

Recently, Andres served as Global COO of KidZania –a children “edutainment” company- in charge of the development and operation of all KidZania franchisees around the world, contributing to the growth of KidZania from 9 to 23 facilities globally.

Andres is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years in the aviation, hospitality and travel industries.

Andrés has been CEO and COO of various international airlines, having worked for Aviacsa, Volaris, Aerolineas Argentinas and the LATAM group, among others. Andrés has been involved with the travel and hospitality industry since he was 15, working at his family’s travel agencies.

Andrés Fabre is an air transport pilot with more than 11,000 flight hours, holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration specialized in Tourism and post graduate courses on Finance.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Andrea Lusso

Manager Route Planning, JetBlue

As a member of the Network Planning team, Andrea oversees the long-term network strategy and special projects, working closely with key organizational groups such as Finance, Treasury, and Product Development.

Andrea joined JetBlue in 2012 in the Marketing group, but quickly found his calling in the Network team, where he first spent time building the foundation of route forecasting and capacity planning, before shifting his focus onto long-term strategy and projects.

Prior to joining JetBlue, Andrea worked in Sales & Marketing at Dassault Falcon Jet, and in Safety at Spirit Airlines. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle as well as an MBA from New York University - Stern School of Business.

Andrea holds a commercial pilot certificate, with multi-engine and instrument rating, and is a certified flight instructor.

Andrea and his wife live in Brooklyn, New York where they spend their free time outdoors and travelling the world.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Javier Suarez

VP Network and Fleet Planning, Viva Aerobus

Javier began his aviation career in Boston, working in the ground operations department of Midwest Express Airlines.

He has also worked for some well-known fast growing airlines including Iberia Regional in which he worked as commercial quality manager in Valencia, Spain for 4 years.

In Qatar Airways he worked as a Senior Strategist for almost two years in Doha, Qatar

He then joined Barcelona based, Vueling Airlines and worked as Director Network Planning & Corporate Affairs. In his four years of work he managed to profitably grow Vueling´s network from 38 aircraft to an existing fleet of 105 aircraft.

He is currently working as a VP of Network and Fleet Planning for VivaAerobus Airlines in Mexico City.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management by Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, a Masters in Marketing by Esic University and a Masters in Management by Harvard University.

Participating Talks and Sessions

Blake Scholl

Founder & CEO, Boom

Blake Scholl is founder and CEO at Boom Technology, the Denver-based startup developing an economical supersonic airliner. Blake is an instrument-rated pilot. He previously co-founded technology startup Kima Labs and held leadership positions at Amazon.com, Groupon, and Pelago.

Participating Talks and Sessions

Peter Cerdá

Regional VP, 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.

Participating Talks and Sessions

John R. Byerly

Consultant, John Byerly

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 negotiations 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 September 11, 2001.

Participating Talks and Sessions

Brian Hedberg

Director, Office of International Aviation, US DOT

Brian J. Hedberg is the Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of International Aviation where he is responsible for promoting U.S. airline access to foreign markets and competition in international markets, reducing trade barriers and facilitating the export of domestic transportation goods and services, and licensing U.S. and foreign airlines to serve international markets.

He previously served as the Assistant Director for Negotiations where he was responsible for bilateral civil aviation relations and negotiations with countries around the world, though he spent most of his career working with aviation partners in the Western Hemisphere, Middle East and the former Soviet republics.  He works closely with the Departments of State, Commerce and Homeland Security to resolve issues that arise for U.S. and foreign air carriers conducting international air transportation, and contributes to the Department’s international aviation initiatives. 

Prior to joining the Office of International Aviation, he practiced immigration law in Chicago with Madrid Crost Law Group and worked with several legal assistance foundations.  Mr. Hedberg received a Juris Doctor and a Certificate of International and Comparative Law from DePaul University and completed undergraduate education at Tulane University’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies and Complutensis University of Madrid. 

Participating Talks and Sessions

Erik Hansen

Senior Director, Domestic Policy, USTA

Erik Hansen serves as Senior Director of Domestic Policy for the U.S. Travel Association where he leads the development of the Association’s domestic and transportation policy agenda and represents the travel community before the Executive Branch and Congress.

Mr. Hansen focuses on issues related to aviation, surface transportation, infrastructure, and federal travel. Mr. Hansen also serves as the General Manager for the Connecting America Through Travel conference, which convenes travel industry leaders, transportation experts and policy influencers to help shape the discussion on revitalizing America’s travel infrastructure.

Before joining U.S. Travel Association, Mr. Hansen worked for five years on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and for the office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hansen served as Field Director for the reelection campaign of Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and worked in the government affairs office of Prudential Financial.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

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 11th person to lead Clark County’s aviation system since McCarran was established in 1948, and is the first woman to serve as Director. She manages a staff of nearly 1,500 employees, ensuring that operational plans are efficiently and effectively implemented for an airport system that directly employs more than 16,000 people.

McCarran annually ranks among the world’s busiest airports, serving more than 45 million passengers in 2015.  Under Vassiliadis’ leadership, the airport has developed an industry-leading security program while maintaining a strong commitment to world-class customer service – an endeavour that earned McCarran the third highest ranking in the J.D. Power 2015 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.  

Vassiliadis works with several national organizations that are critical to the U.S. and global travel industries. She was recently appointed to the Executive Board of the American Association of Airport Executives, and since February 2011, she has been 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.  Additionally, Vassiliadis serves as 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.

Closer to home, Vassiliadis serves as a technical advisor to the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, a group created by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to bring key community leaders and stakeholders together to identify and prioritize tourism improvement projects in southern Nevada and explore potential funding mechanisms to support new tourism-related initiatives. In 2011 Governor 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 is also a member of the Las Vegas Advisory Council of the United Service Organization (USO), and is proud that McCarran now has a USO lounge in each of its terminals.

Vassiliadis came to the Department of Aviation from the Clark County Department of Finance, where she served as Director.  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.

Participating Talks and Sessions

Trevor Charsley

Senior Advisory, Associated Foreign Exchange (AFEX)

Trevor is an FCA CF30 approved Senior market adviser with over 25 years’ trading and sales experience. Roles he has fulfilled include being Head of FX trading at a Japanese Investment House and also various senior sales capacities, providing Trevor with deep overall knowledge and experience of financial markets. Whilst working at AFEX Trevor has serviced clients in the Wealth management and Boutique Investment space as well as the Aviation industry. Trevor’s latest role includes the provision of market analysis and views to the AFEX client base as well as helping select advisory clients structure and manage their FX hedging policies.

Trevor provides a weekly blog on the latest FX themes and is often quoted in the UK business press including the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph. Most recently over the UK’s Brexit referendum and US presidential election he was quoted in The Independent, The Wall St Journal, the LA Times and CNBC.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Ben Brookman

Director, Network Planning, Alaska Airlines

Ben Brookman is the Director of Network Planning at Alaska Air Group and leads the teams that analyze new markets, set capacity levels, and work with communities to develop new air service for the Alaska, Virgin, & Horizon networks. Previously, Ben worked in Network Planning and Revenue Management at US Airways. He graduated with honors from Northeastern University with a degree in Business Administration.

Participating Talks and Sessions

Michael Miller

CEO - Americas, CAPA

Michael has had a 25-year career in aviation, from 12 years as a journalist and editor of major aviation publications to building a successful aviation consulting firm. He has worked extensively for Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, US Airways, Bombardier, the Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and others. He is the former Head of Content for Routes and is a private pilot.

Lukas Johnson

SVP, Commercial, Allegiant Air

Lukas Johnson joined Allegiant as part of the Revenue Management team in 2010. He assumed his current role of Senior Vice President, Commercial in January of 2017 and is responsible for pricing and revenue management, ancillary revenues, network planning, scheduling, charters and e-commerce. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Northwestern University.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions

Carolyn Burnett

Head of Live Content, Aviation, UBM EMEA

Carolyn is responsible for all the live content at Routes events, including the Strategy Summits, Tourism Summit and Routes Talks programmes. She has over eight years’ experience within the aviation sector and has run over 45 Routes conferences and summits across China, USA, Africa, India, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Latin American and various countries throughout Europe and the Middle East.  She aims to bring together leaders from across the globe to address key industry issues, through a programme of informative and dynamic live content. In addition, she manages relationships and partnerships with key industry associations for Routes.

She has a background in live events and prior to UBM, she has worked within the health sector and the arts sector on live events and conferences and she also set up and ran her own business. Carolyn started her career with IBM, as part of their graduate training programme and specialised in project management, working on a number of consultancy projects across a range of business sectors during her early career.

Website

Participating Talks and Sessions