People: Oliva steps into newly created president position at Avianca

Avianca Group has appointed Gabriel Oliva as president, a newly created role, effective immediately, to ensure a smooth transition when Chief Executive Frederico Pedreira steps down next year. Oliva will retain the position of chief operating officer. [caption id="attachment_57293016" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Gabriel Oliva and Frederico Pedreira[/caption] Pedreira joined Avianca Group nearly five years ago as COO, rising to deputy CEO and then CEO in January 2024. His final day with Avianca will be Feb. 28, according to a Nov. 11 release from Avianca. When Pedreira retires, Oliva will remain president and a new COO will be named. Avianca has not specified plans to appoint a new CEO. With nearly fifteen years in the aviation industry, Oliva joined Avianca in 2021 as the CEO of Avianca Cargo . He spent more than a decade at LATAM Airlines before joining Avianca. Dhillon to helm Cargojet as sole CEO following Porteous’ retirement Cargojet co-CEO Pauline Dhillon , a Cargojet founding partner, will become CEO Jan. 1, 2026, after co-CEO Jamie Porteous retires at yearend, the Canadian carrier announced in its third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 5. [caption id="attachment_57293019" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Pauline Dhillon and Jamie Porteous[/caption] Porteous, also a founding partner of Cargojet in 2002, will remain with the company as a strategic adviser until Dec. 31, 2026. In her twenty-four-year career with Cargojet , Dhillon has held roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president of corporate marketing and government affairs and chief corporate officer. Pieper becomes CCO at American [caption id="attachment_57293018" align="alignright" width="271"] Nathaniel Pieper[/caption] American Airlines has appointed Nathaniel Pieper chief commercial officer, effective Nov. 4, the carrier announced during its Q3 earnings call on Oct. 23. Steve Johnson , who has been interim CCO since June 2024 when Vasu Raja retired, will resume his previous positions as vice chair and chief strategy officer. Pieper has been in leadership roles in the aviation industry since 1997, most recently as CEO of the Oneworld Alliance , which includes American, since April 2024. He has also held leadership roles at Alaska Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Virgin Atlantic and Northwest Airlines . Polmans to become global SVP of cargo at Swissport [caption id="attachment_57293020" align="alignright" width="248"] Steven Polmans[/caption] Swissport has appointed Steven Polmans global senior vice president of cargo effective Nov. 15. Polmans will lead the company’s global air cargo operations with a focus on developing and driving the global cargo strategy and enhancing commercial performance, Swissport said in a Nov. 3 release. With decades of experience in the air cargo industry, Polmans has worked as a consultant for the past few years and spent the past six years as chair of the TIACA board. He passed the TIACA gavel to Roos Bakker , manager of business development and contract management at Dutch public safety company CTSN Group , at Air Cargo Forum 2025 this month in Abu Dhabi. Polmans has also held leadership roles at Nallian , Abu Dhabi Airports , Brussels Airport Co. and Air Cargo Belgium . Maier to oversee Middle East, Africa region for DHL Global Forwarding [caption id="attachment_57293021" align="alignright" width="281"] Tobias Maier[/caption] DHL Global Forwarding has appointed Tobias Maier as CEO for the Middle East and Africa region, effective Dec. 1. He succeeds Amadou Diallo , who will be stepping down after more than eight years in the position and thirty years with DHL Group , according to a Nov. 10 release. Since joining DHL in 2008, Maier has held several leadership positions, most recently chief financial officer for the Middle East and Africa region and CEO of Saloodo!, DHL’s digital freight platform in the Middle East and Africa. Netter to drive Freightos’ strategy as CRO [caption id="attachment_57293017" align="alignright" width="276"] Michael Netter[/caption] Digital cargo booking and payment platform Freightos this month appointed Michael Netter as its first chief revenue officer. Netter brings experience in B2B software, digital logistics, Internet of Things solutions and go-to-market leadership, according to a Nov. 10 release from Freightos . He most recently was VP of sales for the EMEA region at Proemion , a Germany company that develops technology infrastructure for OEMs. Prior to that, Netter served as VP of intermodal sales at project44 and CRO at Synfioo , according to the release. Register here for Cargo Facts ’ free webinar, “Full thrust: Navigating engine challenges in the freighter segment,” on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 11 a.m. ET. Cargo Facts LATAM 2026, the essential event for stakeholders in Latin America, will take place Feb. 10-12 at the Marquis Reforma in Mexico City. Learn more and register by Dec. 26 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

People: Oliva steps into newly created president position at Avianca

New leaders named at Cargojet, American, Swissport, DHL, Freightos

Policy clarity and holiday restocking drive air cargo momentum

Awesome Cargo begins trans-Pac cherry charters with A330-200P2F

Related Posts

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

Widebodies account for more than half of April’s transactions

Awesome Cargo begins trans-Pac cherry charters with A330-200P2F

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password