People: Schmit named CEO of London Gatwick Airport

Pierre-Hugues Schmit will become chief executive of London Gatwick Airport , effective Sept. 1. He is chief commercial and operational officer at airports operator Vinci Airports , which owns a majority share of London Gatwick, and a non-executive director on the airport’s board.

[caption id="attachment_57289262" align="alignright" width="375"] Pierre-Hugues Schmit and Stewart Wingate[/caption] Schmit has been with Vinci Airports for eight years, serving as chief commercial officer for two years, before taking his current role. He has also held leadership positions at Aeroports de Paris and France’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation .

Schmit succeeds Stewart Wingate , who served as CEO at London Gatwick (LGW) for nearly sixteen years, according to a May 30 release. Effective Sept. 1, Wingate will become managing director of U.K. airports, a new position created by Vinci Airports and airports investor Global Infrastructure Partners .

Wingate will oversee the development and strategic direction of LGW, Edinburgh Airport (EDI) and Belfast International (BFS). He has held leadership roles at London Stanstead Airport (STN) and Budapest Airport (BUD).

Elias appointed CEO of Avianca Cargo [caption id="attachment_57289259" align="alignright" width="300"] Diogo Elias[/caption] Diogo Elias was promoted to CEO of Avianca Cargo , effective May 1, from senior vice president, a role he had held since September 2023.

In this role, Elias leads fleet expansion plans, route network diversification and new market development, according to a May 5 release. He is responsible for connecting more than 350 destinations through freighter operations, interline agreements and the carrier’s passenger network.

Before joining Avianca, Elias held cargo leadership roles at LATAM Airlines for eight years.

Lufthansa Cargo promotes Bauer, Schleussner [caption id="attachment_57289260" align="alignright" width="344"] Frank Bauer and Gregor Schleussner[/caption] Lufthansa Cargo has promoted Frank Bauer to chief operating officer and Gregor Schleussner to chief financial officer, chief human resources officer and labor director, effective July 1.

Bauer, who is chief financial officer and labor director at Lufthansa Cargo, has held roles at multiple Lufthansa Group subsidiaries since 2007, according to a May 16 release.

Schleussner, who is head of finance, controlling and accounting at Lufthansa Group’s low-cost airline Eurowings , has held roles at multiple Lufthansa Group subsidiaries since 2006.

Rasmussen becomes CCO at DHL Global Forwarding [caption id="attachment_57289257" align="alignright" width="300"] Amanda Rasmussen[/caption] DHL Global Forwarding appointed Amanda Rasmussen as CCO effective May 15. She succeeded Thomas George , who has transitioned executive vice president, overseeing the implementation of the corporate strategy for 2030, according to a May 19 release.

Rasmussen has nearly thirty years of experience in the logistics industry. For more than fifteen years, she held sales roles across the United States, Asia and Europe, the release said. She joined DHL Global Forwarding’s International Supply Chain (ISC) business in 2010, where she focused on the South Asia-Pacific region. In 2015, her responsibilities expanded to encompass ISC operations across all of Asia Pacific.

She then held roles at Indo Trans Logistics and Expeditors International before returning to DHL in 2024 as senior vice president of order management solutions.

Global GSA Group promotes Saray to CEO [caption id="attachment_57289258" align="alignright" width="300"] Aytekin Saray[/caption] In its 30th-anniversary year, Global GSA Group (GGG) appointed Aytekin Saray as its new CEO, according to a May 5 release. Saray succeeds Ismail Durmaz, who became GGG’s chair.

Saray joined Global Airline Services , now a part of GGG, in 2000, and has served as managing director for central Europe and most recently as CCO at GGG. He began his air cargo career at Panalpina in 1996.

Earlier this year, Zafer Aggunduz was named CCO. Also, Boris Blagojevic will become managing director of Mondial Airline Services , also a Global GSA subsidiary, overseeing operations in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe.

Etihad Cargo introduces new regional structure for European team Etihad Cargo announced strategic restructuring of its European commercial team into five areas from four, according to a May 13 release.

The five new European regions led by Rainer Krammer , regional manager of Europe and the Americas, include:

Southwest Europe, covering France, Spain and Portugal, led by Eric Lamare , a newly appointed area manager based in Paris; U.K. and Ireland, led by Michael Mackenzie ; Northwest Europe, covering Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, led by Karim Grinate ; Central Europe, covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland, led by Karim Rakkrouki ; and Southeast Europe, covering Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Greece, led by Lorenzo Donato . “Etihad Cargo’s European network is experiencing strong and sustained growth,” Chief Cargo Officer Stanislas Brun said. “This restructure allows us to scale our operations in line with market demand.”

Bakker to helm TIACA as chair for 2026-2027 term [caption id="attachment_57289263" align="alignright" width="279"] Roos Bakker[/caption] Roos Bakker , manager of business development and contract management at Dutch public safety company CTSN Group , will become chair of TIACA for the 2026-27 term, TIACA announced May 15. Her appointment follows a two-year tenure as vice chair.

Bakker will succeed Steven Polmans , a self-employed air cargo expert, who has led TIACA for six years.

Before joining CTSN Group, Bakker spent nearly eighteen years in leadership roles at Royal Schiphol Group . Her term as chair will begin Nov. 6 at the close of the TIACA Air Cargo Forum.

“We’re in a dynamic period for air cargo, with pressing challenges across global trade, supply chain security, and operational efficiency,” Bakker said in the release.

De Mieter to head cargo sales at MST [caption id="attachment_57289261" align="alignright" width="300"] Pascale De Mieter[/caption] Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) has named Pascale De Mieter as cargo sales executive, a role in which she will focus on driving growth in high-demand verticals such as perishables, pharmaceuticals, live animals and vulnerable cargo.

De Mieter brings more than twenty-three years of air cargo expertise, including senior roles at Air Belgium and CAL Cargo Airlines in Liege.

“I’ve sat on nearly every side of the air cargo table: airlines, forwarding, charter brokerage and most recently in a high-tech environment driving the digitalization of airfreight agreements,” De Mieter said in a May 12 release. “Now it’s time to bring all that experience to the airport side.”

Kuehne+Nagel appoints Sharma-Paterson to head sales [caption id="attachment_57289264" align="alignright" width="370"] Shirley Sharma-Paterson and Leon Diradourian[/caption] Kuehne+Nagel has appointed Shirley Sharma-Paterson as global head of sales, effective Aug. 1. She will report directly to CEO Stefan Paul , according to a May 28 release.

Sharma-Paterson has spent the past seven years at DB Schenker in roles including head of the partner customer engagement program and senior vice president of global vertical market technology.

The company has also appointed Leon Diradourian as managing director for its Middle East cluster comprising Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, effective June 1.

Diradourian is based at Kuehne+Nagel’s cluster headquarters in Dubai, according to a May 5 release. He has been with Kuehne+Nagel for fifteen years and most recently served as vice president of strategic customs development, helping to integrate Farrow , a Canada-based customs brokerage recently acquired by Kuehne+Nagel.

People: Schmit named CEO of London Gatwick Airport

New leaders emerge at Avianca, Lufthansa, DHL, Etihad and more

Lutnick says he expects tariff analysis on aircraft parts soon

SolitAir leases two 737-800BDSFs from World Star

Related Posts

Widebody transactions carry momentum into June

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

SolitAir leases two 737-800BDSFs from World Star

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password