People: Southwest appoints Kilburn VP of cargo

Southwest Airlines has appointed Brian Kilburn as vice president of cargo, provisioning and ground support equipment. [caption id="attachment_57287709" align="alignright" width="300"] Brian Kilburn[/caption] Kilburn will succeed Wally Devereaux , who announced his retirement in March. Devereaux, who has been with Southwest for more than thirty-three years, has transitioned into an executive adviser role. Kilburn has been with Southwest for more than a decade, most recently as managing director of integrated operations planning. He also has financial experience as chief operating officer at Dallas-based hedge fund Greenbrier Partners Capital Management. Southwest Cargo last week reported $41 million in revenue in the first quarter, down 2.4% year over year. However, Southwest Airlines reported a record Q1 operating revenue of $6.4 billion, up 1.6% YoY. Venice named VP at ATSG ATSG named Brant Venice as VP of business operations in March, according to a recent announcement. [caption id="attachment_57287708" align="alignright" width="225"] Brant Venice[/caption] ATSG today became a private company and wholly owned subsidiary of Stonepeak after completing its $3.1 billion sale to the New York-based private equity firm in April. Prior to joining ATSG, Venice held leadership positions at UPS, including director of flight control at UPS Airlines. His career at UPS spanned nearly thirty-one years. He is also president of the SITA Council and has served on the council for eleven years. SITA is an air transport communications and information technology company, and its council includes advisers representing industry stakeholders. Sutch heads international development at IndiGo IndiGo Chief Commercial Officer Cargo Mark Sutch became head of international development, a role he will hold in addition to being CCO cargo for the past two years. [caption id="attachment_57287712" align="alignright" width="200"] Mark Sutch[/caption] Sutch became head of international development in February, announcing his promotion last month on LinkedIn. IndiGo operates three A321-200P2Fs (3267, 3334 and 3930), though Sutch said at Cargo Facts Asia 2024 that adding more freighters could be a possibility should the airline enter the passenger widebody segment. IndiGo operates a narrowbody fleet but in April 2024 ordered thirty A350-900s from Airbus. Before joining IndiGo, Sutch served as CCO of air cargo at CMA CGM for five months and spent twenty-five years at Cathay in leadership roles. Van Doesburg becomes director at dnata Joost van Doesburg announced last month that he has become director of business development and communication at dnata. [caption id="attachment_57287711" align="alignright" width="216"] Joost van Doesburg[/caption] Previously, van Doesburg was head of cargo at Royal Schiphol Group , which operates Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) and Lelystad Airport (LEY), and holds a majority stake in Eindhoven Airport (EIN), all in the Netherlands. He also has served on the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation, been manager of public affairs for the Dutch Airline Pilot Association, served as airfreight policy manager for the European Shippers Council and been secretary of the Council of Air Shippers. He was also named an Executive to Watch in 2023 by Cargo Facts ’ former sister publication Air Cargo Next . “In the coming months, we will reach a major milestone with the opening of dnata Cargo City Amsterdam — a state-of-the-art facility that will further strengthen our capabilities in air cargo handling,” van Doesburg said in a LinkedIn post. Branov takes the helm at Seko Logistics Seko Logistics appointed Gordon Branov as chief executive, effective April 21. He succeeded Philippe Gilbert, who was interim CEO for nearly four months and will continue in his role as chair of Seko’s board of directors. [caption id="attachment_57287710" align="alignright" width="210"] Gordon Branov[/caption] Gilbert took over for James Gagne , who was president and CEO for seven years, leaving in December 2024. Gagne is now an advisory board member at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Branov brings more than two decades of leadership experience in logistics and supply chain innovation, most recently serving as regional head of LTL and final mile at Maersk North America. He previously held operational and leadership roles at Estes and Pilot Freight Services. Air Canada realigns senior executive responsibilities Air Canada shifted the responsibilities of three senior executives, effective May 1, to promote “cross-functional capabilities,” CEO Michael Rousseau said in a release. [caption id="attachment_57287706" align="alignright" width="462"] From left are Air Canada's Craig Landry, Mark Nasr and Mark Galardo.[/caption] Mark Galardo, previously EVP of revenue and network planning and president of cargo, has been appointed CCO, and will remain president of cargo. In addition to heading Air Canada’s cargo division, Galardo is responsible for marketing. He has been with Air Canada for twenty-one years. Craig Landry, previously COO, has been appointed chief innovation officer and president of loyalty program Aeroplan. He now spearheads Air Canada’s technology improvements and is responsible for digital, data, cybersecurity and AI functions. He has worked at Air Canada for nearly fifteen years. Mark Nasr, previously executive vice president of marketing and digital and Aeroplan president, has been appointed COO. His responsibilities include flight operations, maintenance and engineering, airports, in-flight service, contact centers, international operations, regional express carriers, and onboard cabins and systems groups. He has been with Air Canada for nine years. Galardo, Landry and Nasr also all hold the title of EVP. Avitas names new CEO, president, SVP, CFO Aviation consulting firm Avitas announced several executive leadership changes at the beginning of April. [caption id="attachment_57287707" align="alignright" width="465"] Clockwise from above left are Avitas' John Vitale, Doug Kelly, Adam Pilarski, Roya Najmabadi and Rikard de Jounge.[/caption] John Vitale retired March 31 after serving as president and CEO since 1997. He has transitioned into a senior adviser and member of the board. Doug Kelly has been named the new CEO. Formerly senior vice president of asset valuation, Kelly has been with Avitas for more than twenty-eight years. He previously held positions with FedEx and McDonnell Douglas, which is now part of Boeing. Adam Pilarski takes over as president, having formerly served as SVP of consulting. Pilarski has also been with Avitas for twenty-eight years and previously worked as a senior economist at McDonnell Douglas. Rikard de Jounge takes Kelly’s former role of SVP of asset valuation. De Jounge was VP of asset valuation at Avitas for twenty years and before that worked at Boeing. Lastly, Roya Najmabadi has been named chief financial officer. She has been with Avitas since 1998 and, before that, spent twelve years working in public accounting and private companies. Register now for Cargo Facts EMEA, an essential regional event for industry stakeholders, on May 6-8 at the Shangri-La Bosphorus in Turkey.

People: Southwest appoints Kilburn VP of cargo

New leaders emerge at ATSG, IndiGo, dnata, Seko Logistics, Air Canada, Avitas

Aviation Asset Management’s Halsor joins Cargo Facts EMEA 2025

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