Flybe CEO becomes only female member of IATA Board of Governors
Flybe’s CEO Christine Ourmieres-Widener has been appointed to IATA Board of Governors, making her the only woman on the 31-member body which represents around 290 airlines worldwide.
At the same time, Qatar Airways group chief executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker has taken over as chairman of the Board for a one-year term.
It was announced today that he will be succeeded by Lufthansa chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr from June 2019.
Ourmieres-Widener was originally elected to the IATA board of governors in an interim move in April 2017 when TAP CEO Fernando Pinto stood down.
Following her long-term appointment today, she said: "I am delighted and honoured to have been elected and look forward with great enthusiasm to contributing to the important work that IATA does for the industry.~ I am, of course, also passionate about diversity and so am privileged~to bring this dimension to the Board."
Ourmieres-Widener has long taken an active personal and professional interest in industry matters and is a former vice-president and current Board member at the European Regions Airline Association.
Her career in the industry spans 30 years, having started as an engineer with Air France in 1988 before progressing in the company to become the airline’s UK and Ireland general manager and ultimately a VP based in New York.
After leaving Air France she was appointed chief executive of CityJet between 2010 and 2015, before a two-year stint as chief global sales officer for American Express Global Business Travel.
She was appointed Flybe CEO in January 2017 to lead the airline through a turnaround following several years of low profitability.
She remains one of the few female airline CEOs in the airline industry.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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