Conference Programme Speakers
Steven Small
Brand Director, Routes
An economic development and tourism specialist, Steven’s career has focussed on working with destinations supporting inward investment, tourism and economic development initiative.
Roles in inward investment, specifically site selection and project management, led Steven to the Northwest Regional Development Agency, where he developed a grant to help support regional airports' route development strategies.
As a consultant at Ernst and Young, Steven worked on a number of projects for both private and public sector organisations, including supporting the development of the business plan for Bath City Council. Back in Manchester he joined the city’s inward investment agency, MIDAS, helping attract businesses to the city.
From here, he moved to Marketing Manchester working on a variety of projects including funding packages for Manchester Central - the city’s main convention venue and the new National Football Museum, as well as delivering the route development fund for Manchester Airport. Steven then took on the role of Head of Business Tourism for Visit Manchester, working to attract major new events and conferences to the city.
Steven moved back to his home town of Liverpool as Head of Tourism, working with public and private stakeholders to develop a long term strategy to maximise the explosion of the visitor economy, since the European Capital of Culture in 2008, and ensure the city region continues to improve its offer and grow sustainably.
A move to UBM in February 2017 brought Steven back to route development. As Brand Director, Steven leads a team in the development and delivery of Routes - a portfolio of global events providing a platform for the route development community to negotiate new air services.
A father of two, Steven is a supporter of Everton football club and lives in a village in North Cheshire.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Donovan White
Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB)
Mr. Donovan White was appointed director of tourism, effective 2018 February 15. Mr. White brings to the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) over 20 years of experience as a senior executive in marketing and business development.
White is a solution-driven leader, with a track record of achieving positive business outcomes through building and leveraging strategic relationships, building winning teams and facilitating transformation across multiple industries, including media, telecoms, advertising and technology. He has a solid background in marketing, digital media and business development and is keen to build on the successes of the Board, while leveraging existing industry relationships to help the JTB expand its global reach.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Roy Graff
Managing Director, EMEA, Dragon Trail Interactive
Roy Graff brings over 20 years of experience working in and with China in the tourism, hospitality, luxury retail and digital marketing sectors. Roy is the author of the 2015 book, China, the Future of Travel, and frequently speaks at leading travel and tourism conferences. Roy has provided strategic advice and market entry support to some of the world’s leading travel organizations, including Skyscanner, VisitBritain, PromPeru and Eurostar. In the early 2000s, he spearheaded Gullivers Travel Associates’ development of the independent travel business in China in the early days of Chinese outbound tourism. Roy has a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and is a fluent Mandarin speaker.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Miguel Ángel Pérez
Brand Manager, Valencia Tourism
Over 15 years experience in international marketing and sales; he started exporting different Spanish products such as furniture, tiles, gourmet food or wine... in the last 10 years his professional goal is promoting and "selling" his city: VALENCIA (in Spain).
Specialized in opening new markets and developing business, new brands and products; achieving "win-win" agreements, leading and managing sales teams, boosting media and public relations, ...
From 2008 Mr. Pérez has been promoting Valencia in whole Asia (China included), performing offline and online marketing activities: using social media, Chinese influencers and now launching a new website in Chinese.
Since 2010 he is also Aviation Manager, responsible for Fly Valencia: a special marketing programme to improve the air connectivity from Valencia, attending Europe and World Routes since then with great results: Valencia Airport grew 16% in 2017 and is growing 20% this year.
Now he is responsible for the Brand Management: leading a team of 13 experienced Market & Product Managers who promote the city of Valencia worldwide with specialized products like: Valencia Convention Bureau, VLC Sports, VLC Gastro, Shopping, Cultural, etc.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Chikage Miyoshi
Associate Professor PhD, Ningbo Supply Chain Innovation Institute China (NSCIIC)
Experienced Lecturer/ Researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the airline industry such as ANA, LH, and a start-up member of Skymark Airlines in Japan. Extensive consulting experience for more than 30 international firms and organisations. Skilled in Analytical Skills such as Demand Forecast, Transport Modelling, Network Connectivity, Transport carbon foot print, and Airport Development. Strong air transport professional with a PhD in Air Transport Economics from Cranfield University. After fifteen years at Cranfield, now based in Ningbo China for developing the Air Transport Research and consulting project. She is also a Research Affiliate at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, and Co-Chair of Air Transport Group and Scientific Committee member of World Conference of Transportation Research Society. BA from Osaka University, and MBA from Waseda University with Okuma Scholarship.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Jay L Lingeswara
Deputy Director Commercial, Strategy & Planning, Vietjet Air
Jay L Lingeswara is the Deputy Director Commercial, Strategy & Planning for VietJet Air. Jay has over 11 years' experience in commercial strategy planning and responsible for driving revenue performance with direct responsibility for network and planning and route performance management at VietJet Air. Representing VietJet Air in all conferences and fairs, with a particular focus on travel and transportation. Key staff advisor for all negotiations with governments entities, airport authorities and tourism boards, alliances and partnerships, and other business transactions. This includes internal and external alignment with all relevant business stakeholders focusing network, fleet and schedule planning. He gained his industry experience at Air Asia Group where he was responsible for commercial strategy, distribution, network and product development.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Abdul Wahab Teffaha
Secretary General, Arab Air Carriers’ Organization
After his post-graduate studies in Socio - Economic Development & Political Sociology, Mr. Teffaha joined AACO as an assistant tariff analyst and rose up in the ranks until becoming Assistant Secretary General in 1992. He was elected Secretary General of the Association in June 1996 and still serves in this capacity.
Mr. Teffaha played a key role in developing a new strategy for AACO based on delivering specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound results to AACO member airlines. Joint projects between AACO members were quickly launched and include, to date, projects that deal with distribution agreements, ground handling, fuel, training, and MRO cooperation. Mr. Teffaha also leads AACO on all industry related issues.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Richard Wynne
Managing Director of Marketing, Northeast Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
As the managing director for Boeing’s Northeast Asia marketing team, Richard Wynne is responsible for Boeing’s marketing efforts to airlines in Japan, China and Korea.
Since joining Boeing in 1999, Wynne has held a variety of leadership roles, most recently as a sales director in the North American region with multiple passenger and cargo airline accounts. Previously, he served as customer leader for the 787 Dreamliner, managed BCA’s public policy team, and served in a variety of roles leading the development of Boeing’s external business strategy.
From 1996 to 1999, Wynne worked with United Airlines in fleet engineering and route planning. He began his career in commercial aviation in 1990 as a marketing analyst with British Aerospace.
Wynne earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Kentucky. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Seattle.
John O’Sullivan
Managing Director, Tourism Australia
John O’Sullivan joined Tourism Australia as the organisation’s Managing Director in March 2014.
In the four years since, John has successfully overseen the evolution of the organisation’s award winning global campaign There’s nothing like Australia – from its food and wine focused Restaurant Australia campaign (launched in 2014) to the emotive Aquatic and Coastal campaign (2016). This year, John has led the organisation for the launch of its biggest ever campaign for the US market with the ‘Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns’ at the 2018 Super Bowl.
During his time at Tourism Australia, John has also focused on growing the organisation’s partnership marketing effort and partner contributions to more than $65 million annually whilst also transforming the organisation’s digital capabilities to reflect changing consumer behaviours and to better tackle conversion challenges.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Steven Polmans
TIACA's Vice-Chairman, Brussels Airport Company
Steven Polmans spent most of his career in the world of aviation and held management positions, both operational and commercial, in the handling industry. On October 1, 2010, he joined Brussels Airport as Cargo Marketing Manager and on February 1st, 2012, Steven was appointed Head of Cargo and Logistics. In this position, he is responsible for developing and implementing the overall cargo strategy of the airport. Since 2016, Steven was also one of the founding fathers of Air Cargo Belgium and the first chairman of this newly established air cargo organisation at BRUcargo, grouping all stakeholders involved. In August of the same year, Steven also joined the board of TIACA, The International Air Cargo Association, of which he became Vice Chairman in October 2017.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Daniel Ketchibachian
Director General, Ezeiza International Airport, Corporación América
Daniel Ketchibachian, Director General of Ezeiza Airport since July 2017, holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Buenos Aires and an MBA from Universidad ORT Uruguay. During the last seven years he worked in Brazil, where he was first Commercial Director and, later, President of the Inframerica consortium, manager of the airports of Brasilia (20 million passengers) and Natal (3 million passengers). Previously, he held the position of CEO of Duty Free Armenia and, shortly after, was appointed CEO of Duty Paid Argentina, a retail operator of the main airports in the country. Prior to his landing in Brazil, he was CCO of the Duty Free operations in the airports of Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Armenia.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Adam Wu
Chief Executive Officer, World Travel Online
Dr WU is the CEO of CBN Travel & MICE and World Travel Online both are invested by and integrated parts of CBN which "Bring the world to China – take Chinese to the world". The slogan summarizes the activities of CBN focusing on outbound travel and outwards investment from China.
CBN Travel & MICE together with the “World Travel Online” have been supporting tourism promotion authorities on the national, regional and local level to promote foreign destinations in China both online and offline as well as recommending airlines and airports directly to the outbound tour operators and corporate travel organizers as well as reaching millions of Chinese travelers in the most cost-effective way.
Over the years, Dr. Wu has been directly involved in advising hundreds foreign destination promotion authorities as well as companies serving the travel and tourism sector from airlines to airports with successful country entry and marketing strategy in China.
Dr. Wu has been invited to speak during numerous conferences including Routes Asia and World Routes as well as being interviewed by news media both online and offline.
In 2013, Dr. Wu was awarded the Honory Award for his dedication and contribution to the outbound travel from China.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Yolanta Strikitsa
Director, Strikitsa Consulting
MBA from California State University Hayward (USA), BA from Gnesinykh State College (RF). During the last 15 years Yolanta has dedicated herself to management consulting and executive search. She has been living and working in USA, Russia and UK, where in 2003 she set up her own business. Prior to Strikitsa Consulting, Yolanta has been working for Morgan Chase, Leucadia National Private Equity and Price Waterhouse. Yolanta is fluent in English, Polish and Russian.
Strikitsa Consulting has been specializing in executive search and consulting services to airports and airlines from 2003 and have completed assignments in UK, Europe, Russia & CIS and SE Asia.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Luca Martinazzoli
Head of Metropolitan Marketing, Municipality of Milan
Luca Martinazzoli is the Marketing Director of the Municipality of Milano.
After 8 years in brand marketing at Nike, He decided to serve his city to support the efforts to build a global city brand.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Pradeep Panicker
Deputy CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited
Mr. Pradeep Panicker is a Chartered Accountant, Cost and Works Accountant, Diploma in Merchant Banking and Financial Services from ICFAI.
He was part of the successful team that won the bid for modernization of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi and a key member of IGIA takeover and transition team. He had set-up and headed the Strategic Process Group (SPG) for 2 years.
Pradeep has been elevated and is taking charge at Hyderabad Airport as the Deputy CEO on January 1, 2018. Prior to joining the GHIAL he held various posts at GMR Delhi International Airport including the Executive Vice-President (EVP) & Chief Commercial Officer for Aeronautical Business.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Eric Friedman
Manager, Route Planning, JetBlue
Eric joined JetBlue in 2011 and has spent his career within the Commercial and Airline Planning space. He began in Revenue Management, then Marketing, and is now in his third year on the Network Planning team. Eric’s team is responsible for JetBlue’s long-term network and fleet strategy. Most recently, Eric spearheaded the network analysis that led to the announcement of JetBlue’s order for 60 A220-300s. His team is also responsible for the expansion of Mint; JetBlue’s premium cabin venture. Eric currently is overseeing the ongoing developments of JetBlue’s long-term transatlantic plans.
Eric graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science, and is an aviation enthusiast who enjoys collaborating with airport, tourism and government officials on existing and future destinations. Eric and his wife Hilary live in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Dilhan Haradasa
Group Head of Airport Partnerships and Incentives, AirAsia Group
Dilhan Haradasa is the current Group Head of Airport Partnerships and Incentives for the AirAsia/AirAsiaX Groups, where, he is responsible for Airport, aeronautical and stakeholder incentives. Prior to this, Dilhan held the role of Group Head of Network and Regulatory for AirAsia.
Dilhan brings 18 years of diverse airline management experience ranging from three low-cost airlines (AirAsia, Virgin Australia and flydubai) and four legacy airlines (SriLankan, Emirates, Gulf Air & LOT Polish). Dilhan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation with an elective major in Marketing & Management from the University of Western Sydney, Australia.
He has a strong knowledge across broad aviation disciplines and possess extensive Commercial management experience in Network/Schedules Planning, Airport Incentives, Sales & Marketing, new airline start-ups, and slot/bilateral negotiations.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Haruo Konishi
Director Network Planning, ANA, All Nippon Airways
Haruo Konishi is the deputy director of network panning, sales and marketing at All Nippon Airways (ANA), the largest airline in Japan based on fleet size. He joined the airline in 2001, working in passenger service at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, before moving into IT strategy and planning, loyalty marketing, and alliance and international affairs. He assumed his current role in April 2014. Konishi is responsible for the Star Alliance member’s international route planning and marketing, as well as joint venture handling. Among his achievements is restarting ANA’s operations to Myanmar after a 12-year hiatus.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Eduardo Arenas
Cargo Network Planning and Strategy Director, LATAM Airlines
Eduardo Arenas is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad de los Andes Colombia, in 2012 changed his FMCG Marketing career to the airline industry when he joined LAN Cargo Revenue Management team in Colombia, there he was able to witness and be part of the integration of LAN and TAM to become the biggest airline in Latin America, later to be unified under one brand LATAM. In 2014 he moved to company headquarters in Chile and has held Revenue Management, Pricing and Capacity Planning responsibilities over different regions in South, Central America and Africa. In 2018 he was appointed Network Planning and Strategy Director where he is responsible for fleet and flight crew planning, scheduling and network development, integrating belly and freighter services as one system.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Ed Robertson
Editor, Routes News
Ed has been the editor for more than two years and oversaw a number of changes to the magazine to better reflect the world of route development today and those who work in it. Before taking on Routes News, he was a B2B travel journalist for 12 years, writing about the UK tourism industry with a focus on tour operators, destinations and tourist boards.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Chenghu Zhou
Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Professor Chenghu Zhou is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, a vice chairman of the International Geographical Union, and the chief scientist of Guangzhou Institute of Geography.
Professor Zhou has been engaged in remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) research for a long period of time. He has participated in over 50 scientific research projects such as the National High-tech R&D Program of China (863 Program) and the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program). He has published more than 380 papers. In the article section, 27 monographs including monographs and atlases were published.
Professor Zhou is not only devoted to the research of GIS technology, but also is committed to using GIS technology in order to solve the challenges and problems related to the construction of smart cities and the urbanization in China, such as traffic congestion, natural disasters, and urban water pollution.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Nigel Mayes
Senior Vice President, Consulting & Product Development, ASM
Nigel has over 15 years’ experience in route development and is responsible for product development at ASM. He gained his industry experience at Birmingham Airport where he was responsible for long haul route development, and he also spent six years developing commercial revenues and industry links at Routes, including an online forum for the route development community.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Jason Sutcliffe
Marketing Executive, Rolls-Royce International Ltd
Jason joined Rolls-Royce in 2006 as a Fleet Planner in the newly formed Operations Centre in Derby. After 3 years and following a 1 year secondment with Singapore Airlines, Jason undertook a position in East Hartford USA as the Customer Fleet Director with International Aero Engines (IAE), he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the V2500 engine fleet in the Middle East. In 2012 Jason returned to the UK to take up the position of Marketing Director for Rolls-Royce, playing a customer relationship role in both the Target and Sales phases. In 2017 Jason has moved to the UAE as the Regional Marketing Executive for the Middle East & Africa. Prior to joining Rolls-Royce, Jason spent 19 years in the British Royal Air Force as an Aircraft Engineer.
Brent Overbeek
Senior Vice President, Network Planning & Revenue Management, Hawaiian Airlines
Brent Overbeek was appointed Senior Vice President - Revenue Management & Network Planning for Hawaiian Airlines in March 2018. He joined Hawaiian in July 2014 as Vice President - Revenue Management & Network Planning, overseeing the company’s revenue management and revenue analytics, network and schedule planning. As Senior Vice President, he expanded his responsibility to include Hawaiian’s growing cargo division.
Previously, he served as Vice President - Revenue Management for Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. 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.
Brent has served on the Board of Directors of ATPCO since 2014.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Jonathan Hutt
Director Commercial, HK Express
As HK Express Commercial Director, Jonathan oversees all of HK Express’ commercial activities and leads the revenue management, network planning, sales and distribution, as well as marketing and communications teams.
Jonathan draws from 20 years of marketing and communications experience in the Greater China and North Asia regions. Throughout his distinguished career, Jonathan has held various positions in the commercial sector, developing valuable expertise in strategic planning, business development, branding, marketing and reputation management.
Prior to joining HK Express, Jonathan spent 7 years serving as the Business Development Director and Brand Director of Spring Airlines in Shanghai, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the Chinese low-cost carrier’s expansion strategy and successful entry into Hong Kong, Taiwan, South East Asia and Japan. Jonathan also spearheaded new distribution and sales channels for Spring as part of the airline’s Social Marketing Centre.
In previous positions, Jonathan served as a marketing consultant for brands such as Tesco, Harley-Davidson, LVMH and Coca-Cola Amatil. He earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in East Asian Studies at Australian National University and holds a Master of Arts in Chinese.
Jonathan spent his early years in Hong Kong – a city that continues to hold a special place in his heart. He also writes and speaks fluent Mandarin and Shanghainese.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Martin Langaas
Director Traffic Development & Cargo, Avinor
At Avinor since June 2016. Responsible for the development of new routes and real-estate activities related to cargo at Oslo Airport.
Leading the project of building the world largest seafood air cargo centre at Oslo Airport to open in 2021. Been successful in making Oslo Airport the largest freighter hub in Northern Europe with a cargo growth of 37.5 percent in 2017. Added 8 new freighter airlines through OSL in the first two years in office.
Background from sales and logistics since 2007 with responsibility of expanding businesses into new foreign markets.
Educated in Norway and Australia in commerce and sales. Spent six years prior to that as a professional cyclist.
Family father with two small kids and a Swedish spouse enjoying our life at our country house outside Oslo or at our summer residence in Italy.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Alex Macheras
Aviation Analyst
Alex Macheras is an aviation analyst, frequent flyer & traveller. He provides aviation analysis on international networks BBC News, Sky News, Good Morning Britain & LBC. In addition to this, Alex reports live from exclusive aviation industry events, joining the delivery of the world's latest passenger jets, where he tests 'every seat in the cabin’
'Follow his journey: @AlexInAir on Twitter, and @alexlhr on Instagram!
Sam Shukla
Airline Consulting Sales Partner, Sabre Airline Solutions
Sam Shukla is a global business leader at Sabre, Inc., with 27 years’ experience in the airline industry. His unique skills include product management, business leadership, business consulting, sales generation and product delivery. For 16 years, Sam has driven superior business results at Sabre by focusing on team leadership, cross-departmental collaboration, and key customer relationships at VP and C Levels.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Tan Wan Geng
Vice Chairman,Executive Director, President & CEO, China Southern Airlines
Mr. Tan Wangeng is President and Deputy Party Chief of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited, and President & CEO of China Southern Airlines Company Limited.
Mr. Tan Wangeng has been working in the management of China’s civil aviation industry for 27 years. He previously served as Director of Human Resources Department of Beijing Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation from 1990 to 1996, Deputy Director of Human Resources Division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) from 1996 to 2000, and was Director General of CAAC Northeastern Region from 2000 to 2006.
Mr. Tan acted as Party Chief and Executive Vice President of China Southern Airlines Company Limited from 2006 to 2008, and was named President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2009. He was appointed as Party Chief of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited in May 2011, and was appointed as President and Deputy Party Chief of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited in December 2016.
Mr. Tan Wangeng graduated from the Economic Geography Department at Sun Yat-sen University, majoring in Regional Economy, with qualification of a post-graduate student, and a Master’s Degree in economics.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Yuri Miroshnikov
President and CEO, Ukraine International Airlines
Mr Miroshnikov is graduated from Kiev Institute (University) of Civil Aviation Engineers – diploma with distinction of power engineer (1986). He also has diploma of overseas representative of Civil Aviation of Ukraine (1995, Kiev International University of Civil Aviation) and diploma with distinction of airline management (IATA Training Center, Geneva, 1999)
Mr Miroshnikov started the carrier as power engineer in Borispol Airport (Kiev) in 1986. He worked as expert and senior expert in the State Administration of Civil Aviation of Ukraine from 1992 through 1993. In 1993 Mr Miroshnikov had joined closed joint stock company Ukraine International Airlines as Assistant to President, and he was consequently promoted to Vice President Commercial in 1994 and Senior Vice President in 1999. In 2004 Mr Miroshnikov was appointed as President and CEO at UIA, which position occupies now.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Maaike van der Windt
Head of Aviation Marketing, Cargo & Customer Experience, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Maaike van der Windt joined Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 2017 as Head of Aviation Marketing. Since 1 April, 2018 Schiphol Cargo was merged and together forms the new Aviation Marketing, Cargo & Customer Experience (ACC) department.
ACC’s key aim is to maintain and grow the mainport network and connectivity of the Airport, and support the airlines in network and business development Maaike has held several management roles with the Aviation Business
Development and Strategy teams of Brisbane Airport between 2008 and Prior to that she held several positions at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Maaike studied Industrial and Business Statistics and graduated with a Masters of Science from the University of Amsterdam in 1998. She enjoys travelling, food and wine, running and boxing, and spending time with her family.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Carlos Kaduoka
Consulting Director, SITA
Dr. Carlos Kaduoka is Director Consulting at SITA based in London. He has lead a wide range of consulting engagements from South America, to Europe to Middle East to Asia, including several engagements in China. His interests are airport technology, airport performance, and the impact of technology on improving passenger satisfaction and operational performance. His hands-on experience is backed up with an extensive academic background, including PhD and MSc from Cranfield University (England) where he researched the relationship between IT and Airport Performance. He is a regular guest lecturer on Airport Management Systems at Cranfield’s MSc in Airport Planning, and a Lecturer on Aviation Technology at University of Surrey’s MSc in Air Transport Management.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Joanna Lu
Head of Consultancy Asia, Flight Ascend
With 16 years professional experience in aviation and consultancy business, Joanna is a trusted advisor to governments, regulators, investors, OEMs, airlines and airports. She is experienced in providing high quality consulting services and helping clients to find solutions in addressing the most complicated issues. Joanna specialises in Airport planning & design, airline & airport strategic planning, OEM market studies, network development, environmental impact assessment and cargo market analysis. Joanna is familiar with global and Asia aviation market, industry regulations. She is well known by flightglobal’s key customers in Asia and a regular media commentator on the aviation industry developments.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Agness Chaila
Director Airport Services, Zambia Airports Corporation Limited
As the Director Airport Services, Ms. Agness Chaila has spent over a decade in the aviation industry. Having joined ZACL in 2002 as Assistant Airport Manager, she was soon promoted to the position Airport Manager in 2003.
In 2008 Ms. Chaila became the Planning and Business Development however in 2015 left the Corporation to join the Zambia Development Agency as Director Investments.
Ms. Chaila rejoined ZACL in 2016 as Director Airport Services responsible for business development, marketing and operations at the four international airports.
She is a holder of a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Political Relations obtained from the University of Economics in Poznan, Poland and is also specialized in International Trade.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Mike St Laurent
Vice President Consulting, ASM
Mike brings over 30 years of airline experience to ASM. He had a long career at Air Canada where he was responsible for the planning and launch of many successful new routes, holding senior roles in network planning, strategy, fleet planning, scheduling and revenue management. He joined ASM in 2014.
Specialisms: Network planning, scheduling, route analysis, fleet planning, traffic/revenue forecasting, strategy, revenue management
Participating Talks and Sessions
Jared Harckham
Vice President, ICF Aviation
Jared Harckham joined the aviation advisory firm ICF (formerly SH&E) in 2002 after 22 years with major airlines in the United States and Mexico. His work in commercial aviation began with a series of planning positions at TWA, and then he served as chief planning officer at Aeromexico for 12 years.
Jared provides advisory services to airlines, airports, investors, and other aviation stakeholders in the areas of airline strategy, network and fleet planning, alliances and marketing as well as air service development and forecasting for airports.
Jared currently works with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the GAP Mexican Pacific Airports to support cargo and passenger air service development.
Mr. Harckham has an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Emory University.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Mr Rajiv Nayan Choubey
Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India
Shri R.N. Choubey has post-graduate degrees in Physics from St. Stephen College, Delhi University, New Delhi and in Social Policy & Planning from London School of Economics. Shri Choubey joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1981 and was allotted to Tamil Nadu cadre. He has more than 30 years experience in Public Administration and has held numerous assignments.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Andy Peirce
Regional Leasing Manager, ACMI24
Joining ACMI24 in February 2014, Andy has more than two decades’ operational and commercial aviation experience. As ACMI24’s Regional Leasing Manager in Asia, Andy works with our airline partners across the continent to provide operational support and identify opportunities for enhanced fleet efficiency through wet leasing.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Qiu Jiachen
Chairman, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Qiu Jiachen (born in September ,1970) is a Chinese senior accountant with a master degree in Banking and Currency. Previously serving as Chief Accountant, Chief Economist and Vice General Manager of Guangdong Airport Authority, he has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co., Ltd since August 2016.
Mr. Qiu is now serving as Vice President of Guangdong Chartered Accountants Institute, Guangdong Enterprise Financial Management Academy and Guangzhou International Financial Management Academy and Director of CCAA (China Civil Airports Association) Finance Professional Committee. In the meantime, Mr.Qiu has also been serving as part -time master tutor of Civil Aviation University of China.
Serving as the Chairman of the Board of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co., Ltd, Mr.Qiu is leading his team to accelerate the airport’s international hub development and aiming at building a word-class international hub with domestic excellence and international advancement. With the commitment to safety, improvement of quality service, Baiyun airport will continuously pursue excellence and achieve splendid future.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Mark Clarkson
EVP Product Development, OAG
Mark is responsible for leading OAG’s flagship Schedules and Analytics portfolios.
Prior to this, Mark spent three years leading OAG’s commercial development in Asia Pacific, with the core focus to develop and deliver revenue growth and lead the expansion of business in the ASPAC region.
In his previous role at OAG as Commercial Director, Mark was responsible for all commercial activities including customer relationship management, new product development and strategic partnerships.
Prior to joining OAG in 2012, Mark spent five years as Vice President at consultancy firm Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM), where he was responsible for delivering client projects including new route development and network strategies. Mark worked with airports and tourism authorities in the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia to implement successful strategies in building sustainable air services. Notable highlights were delivering the first LCC service to St Lucia with JetBlue and a new direct Asian service for London Gatwick Airport for Vietnam Airlines.
Before ASM, Mark spent six years in the airport and aviation division of the Peel Airports Group, where he was responsible for commercial and marketing functions including route development and airline relations.
David Casey
Online Editor - Aviation, Routes
David is responsible for providing insight to the Routesonline community through the latest breaking news, as well as regular features and analysis on developments and trends within the sector. He previously spent 11 years as a business journalist, which included five as the editor of an award-winning digital news team.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Liu Chao
Vice President, EBG China Region, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd
Participating Talks and Sessions
Stephanie Wear Pintado
Director of Economic and Air Service Development, Tenerife Tourism Corporation
Stephanie Wear is the Director of Economic Development of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation since 2012. Under her purview, she is responsible for air service development and attracting foreign direct investment to the island as well as promoting Tenerife as a leisure destination. The top priority of her department is to work with airports, airlines and corporations to create business opportunities on the island and increase the number of tourists that visit Tenerife.
Before her job at the Tenerife Tourism Corporation, she worked in the Foreign Trade Department of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife where she specialized in International Procurement and European Union projects. During that time, she was named as one of three Private Sector Liaison Officers (PSLO) of the World Bank in Spain. Previous to that position she had her own import company in the United States.
Born in Washington DC, Stephanie lived most of her life in the US before moving to Tenerife, Spain, eleven years ago. Her dual nationality and cross-cultural background have been the main motivator for her line of work. She currently holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business, an MBA and Master´s in Marketing.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Paul Burton
Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Aviation Week Network (AWN)
Mr. Paul Burton has been Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Aviation Week Network (AWN) since May 2018. He is responsible for shaping and implementing AWN strategy for the Asia Pacific region, and his portfolio spans all business areas, including exhibitions, conferences, data/insight, media and advertising. He specializes in aerospace and defence content leadership, with a strong focus on product development and delivering tailored projects for senior industry and government clients throughout Asia and Europe.
Prior to joining AWN, Mr. Burton spent nearly 20 at IHS Jane’s in a variety of leadership roles. He has also worked in research and management roles at BAE SYSTEMS, Jane’s Information Group and the United Kingdom Parliament. Mr. Burton’s university degrees include a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) Politics from the University of Portsmouth, England, and a Master of Arts in US Studies from the School of the Americas, University of London, UK.
Christian Lesjak
Senior Vice President Network & Resource Management, Finnair
Christian Lesjak (M.Sc. Econ.) has been appointed at Finnair as Senior Vice President Network & Resource Management as of 1st February 2018.
Christian is 46-year old Austrian national with diverse experience from various positions in the aviation industry. Before joining Finnair, until October 2015, Christian was Managing Director of the Austrian leisure and LCC airline NIKI, followed by a consultant appointment at Lufthansa Group. Previously he has worked in senior management positions for Air Berlin, Styrian Airways, Vienna Airport. Christian started his aviation career at Lauda Air and Swissair/Sabena in the area of network planning.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Alan McIntyre
Executive Manager Commercial Planning, Jetstar Airways
Participating Talks and Sessions
James Nicholls
Senior Analyst, ASM
James has five years of experience as an analyst at ASM, working on a diverse range of projects across the client base. As Senior Analyst, James is responsible for overseeing ASM’s data and forecasting products whilst ensuring that research and analysis on client projects is completed to the highest standard.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Zhan Caihua
Chief Engineer of EBG Traffic, Huawei
Mr. Zhan Caihua is Huawei civil aviation business dept. / solution chief engineer. He Joined Huawei in 2005, worked through multiple business domain including aviation solution sales, business consulting, marketing operation and software R&D, with rich experience on software architecture, big data and artificial intelligence.
Now mainly focus on aviation development, to provide the end-to-end smart ICT solution for aviation industry.
Katja Siberg
SVP for Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience, Finavia
Katja Siberg
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience
Finavia Corporation
Ms Katja Siberg, M.Sc.(Econ), has worked at Finavia as Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience since 2017. Her main responsibilities include leading the brand and marketing strategy, customer insights & experience management as well as marketing and corporate communications.
Katja is an international marketing and business development professional with vast experience in developing businesses. She has a proven track record in executing successful global marketing campaigns and B2B sales.
She has worked at Finavia since 2011. Prior to her appointment as SVP she has had various responsibilities from business development to key account management. Before joining Finavia she worked in various business director responsibilities both in travel and service sector. In addition to her degree in economics she has also Bachelor in Hospitality Management. A common denominator to her career is place branding.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Ryan Zhu
Actor and TV personality
Participating Talks and Sessions
Mariano Mobilia
CCO, Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
Participating Talks and Sessions
Mohamed Sallauddin
General Manager of Airline Marketing, Malaysia Airports
Mohamed Sallauddin is the General Manager of Airline Marketing at Malaysia Airports. He was appointed to his current role on 1 February 2008. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy and Computer Science from Northern Illinois University, USA in 1985. He also holds a Master in Business Administration (Strategic Management) Degree from the International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. His association with the aviation industry began when he was recruited by Malaysia Airlines as a Management Trainee in 1986. He further enriched his aviation repertoire when he joined Malaysia’s first aircraft manufacturing company, Composite Technology Research Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. in 1997. His employment with MAHB in 2001 saw him joining the cadre that led the marketing of the international gateways managed by MAHB. This eventually led to the role of leading MAHB in organising Asia’s first World Route Development Forum in Kuala Lumpur in 2008. He is highly committed in making KLIA the preferred ASEAN hub. He currently serves as a Council Member of the Institute of Marketing Malaysia and is also the Executive Board Member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). His current appointment as an Executive Committee Member of PATA Malaysia Chapter too had facilitated his role to encourage passenger traffic growth at Malaysia Airports.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Joni Sundelin
Senior Vice President, Finavia Corporation
Mr Joni Sundelin has worked at Finavia since 2012. Prior to being nominated as Executive Director of Helsinki Airport, he worked as SVP for Finavia Airport Network, Airline Sales and Accounts in 2012–2018, responsible also for ICT in 2017–2018.
Before joining Finavia, Joni has held several leader positions in international logistics and wholesaling business. Joni has held many positions of trust being a member of the board of many international companies.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Zhan Caihua
Chief Engineer of EBG Traffic, Huawei