People: Perret to succeed Owen as Cathay Cargo director

Tom Owen will step down after five years as director of cargo at Cathay Pacific this year. He will be succeeded by Dominic Perret . [caption id="attachment_57290250" align="alignright" width="342"] Tom Owen and Dominic Perret[/caption] Owen is leaving Cathay to become group director at aircraft maintenance and engineering firm HAECO , a part of the Swire Group , which also holds a majority stake in Cathay Pacific , according to a July 3 release from the carrier. Before becoming director of cargo, Owen spent five years as director of people at Cathay, where he held numerous other leadership roles. He has, off and on, been with Cathay for nearly twenty-nine years. Perret, Cathay’s regional general manager for Southeast Asia, will become director of cargo after Owen. Cathay did not provide a timeline for the change. Perret, who has been with Cathay since 2000, assumed his current role in 2021. The transition comes at a time of continued growth and transformation within Cathay Cargo, which has played a pivotal role in Hong Kong’s aviation recovery and the airline’s post-pandemic expansion strategy. Martin to chair FedEx board following founder’s death [caption id="attachment_57290245" align="alignright" width="363"] Fred Smith and R. Brad Martin[/caption] Following the death of FedEx founder and executive chair Frederick W. Smith on June 21, the company’s board decided to reduce its size to twelve from thirteen and to elect R. Brad Martin to succeed Smith as chair effective immediately, according to a June 23 SEC filing. Martin, who joined the board in September 2011, previously was vice chair. He will continue to chair the board’s audit and finance committee. Martin is also chair of RBM Ventures and retired chair and chief executive of Saks Inc. Smith, who was 80, stepped down as FedEx’s CEO in March 2022 and became executive chairman. He was succeeded as CEO by Raj Subramaniam. Smith is remembered by the industry as a visionary who led freighter development . Wagner to join Airbus as CEO of commercial aircraft [caption id="attachment_57290244" align="alignright" width="347"] Christian Scherer and Lars Wagner[/caption] Munich-based MTU Aero Engines CEO Lars Wagner will become CEO of Airbus ’ commercial aircraft business, effective Jan. 1, 2026. He will succeed Christian Scherer , who is stepping down Dec. 31 after more than forty years with Airbus. Before becoming CEO of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business in January 2024, Scherer had been the company’s chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International since 2018. With MTU since 2015, Wagner became CEO in 2023 after serving as chief operating officer and executive vice president in charge of OEM operations. Before that, he spent nearly twelve years as a manager at Airbus. Wagner will join Airbus in November to facilitate the transition, a July 10 release said. Malave to become Boeing CFO as West takes new role [caption id="attachment_57290243" align="alignright" width="334"] Brian West and Jesus "Jay" Malave[/caption] Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West will become a senior adviser to Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg , effective Aug. 15, at which time Jesus “Jay” Malave will succeed him as CFO, according to a June 30 release. West has been CFO for four years and has held leadership roles at Refinitiv , Oscar Health , Nielsen and GE . Malave was CFO at Lockheed Martin for three years, ending his tenure there in April. He has held leadership roles at L3Harris Technologies , Carrier , United Technologies and Pratt & Whitney . Cargojet appoints McKay as CFO Mississauga, Ontario-based Cargojet has appointed Aaron McKay as CFO, effective Aug. 1, according to a June 16 release. He succeeds Scott Calver , who held the role for nearly two years. Calver left Cargojet in March and is now self-employed. DHL names division CEOs [caption id="attachment_57290249" align="alignright" width="500"] Mark Kunar, Michael Young and Markus Voss[/caption] DHL Group has appointed Mark Kunar as North America CEO of DHL Supply Chain , Michael Young as United States CEO of DHL Global Forwarding and Markus Voss as CEO of DHL Freight . Kunar, formerly DHL Supply Chain’s CFO and chief strategy officer, succeeded Patrick Kelleher , who stepped down in June, according to a June 20 release. Kunar joined DHL Supply Chain in 1996 as a financial analyst. Young will step into his new role on Aug. 1, after Robert Reiter leaves the position, according to a July 8 release. Young is UK and Ireland CEO of DHL Global Forwarding and president of global motorsports. He has more than thirty years of experience within DHL Global Forwarding. Voss, chief development officer at DHL Supply Chain, will succeed Uwe Brinks as CEO of DHL Freight on Sept. 1, according to a July 8 release. He has been with DHL for more than twenty years. Gallego assumes chairmanship of IATA board [caption id="attachment_57290247" align="alignright" width="246"] Luis Gallego[/caption] International Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Luis Gallego began his one-year term as chair of the IATA board on June 2. Gallego is the 83rd chair of the IATA board, on which he has served since 2018, according to a June 2 release. He succeeds IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers , who continues to serve on the board. With nearly thirty years of experience in aviation, Gallego became IAG’s CEO in September 2020, joining from its subsidiary Iberia , where he was chair and CEO from January 2014. Kuehne+Nagel names Claesson CIO [caption id="attachment_57290248" align="alignright" width="300"] Marcus Claesson[/caption] Kuehne+Nagel has appointed Marcus Claesson as chief information officer and a member of its management board, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Martin Kolbe , who will retire Oct. 1 after twenty years on Kuehne+Nagel’s management board, according to a June 6 release. Claesson has more than twenty-five years of experience in IT leadership roles. Since 2019, he has served as CIO at Daimler Truck AG in Stuttgart, Germany. He has also held leadership roles at AB Electrolux and Linde Group . Ritchey to helm Geodis’ Americas region [caption id="attachment_57290246" align="alignright" width="300"] Laura Ritchey[/caption] French freight forwarder Geodis has appointed Laura Ritchey president and CEO of the Americas region. Ritchey was most recently CEO at Radial and has held leadership positions at Centric Brands , FullBeauty Brands , Victoria’s Secret and L Brands . She succeeds Mike Honious , who is retiring after nearly five years in the role, according to a July 7 release. He has been in the industry for thirty years — twenty of them at Geodis. Cargo Facts Symposium, the quintessential event for stakeholders and key leaders in the global freighter and air cargo industries, will take place Oct. 22-24 at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville . Learn more and register today to take advantage of the early-bird rate.

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