2023 Speakers

Dr. Ahmet Bolat was born in 1959 in Konya and graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 1981 as an Industrial Engineer. He had his M.Sc. degree from Stanford University’s Operations Research program and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He started his career in 1981 as a Design and Production Engineer. Between 1985-2005, he held a variety of academic roles at the University of Michigan and King Saud University and contributed to the literature with many papers regarding optimization, sequencing & scheduling and automobile assembly lines.

He has been Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines since 28 January 2022.  He started his career at Turkish Airlines in 2005 and held different senior positions as Senior Vice President, Investment Management till 2012. From 2012 to 2022, Dr. Bolat was responsible for Fleet Planning, Investment Management, International Relations & Alliances and Innovation as the Chief (Investment and Technology) Officer.

During his 17-year tenure at Turkish Airlines, he has successfully managed the strategic growth plan of Turkish Airlines and led the team for procuring around 550 aircraft to Turkish Airlines fleet. In this respect, Dr. Ahmet Bolat played an essential role in the growth strategy & fleet investment planning of Turkish Airlines. He has also run government affairs & commercial agreements with airline partners, ensuring partnership & network development with enhanced bilateral relations. He has been the leading executive for the feasibility study of the Alliance election process for Turkish Airlines.

He is currently Chairman of Sun Express Airlines and Turkish Airlines’ subsidiaries namely: Turkish Technology, Turkish Technic, Turkish Flight Academy, Turkish Ground Services, Turkish Fuel Services, Turkish OPET, Turkish Do&Co Catering and We World Express. He is also the Chairman of the “Service Exporters’ Association” which was established with its headquarters in Istanbul by the Ministry of Commerce. He’s working with the sector committees on creating a service export strategy, identifying sectoral problems, and offering solutions while determining the sectoral strategies for service export. 

Dr. Bolat is married, and father of five children & three grandchildren.

Alan Beattie is senior trade writer at the Financial Times, recently relocated to London from Brussels, and writes Trade Secrets, the FT’s newsletter and opinion column on trade and globalisation. Alan joined the FT in 1998 after working as an economist at the Bank of England.

Before moving to Brussels in 2016 he was the FT’s international economy editor, covering global trade and economics from London and Washington, including the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the G8 and the G20. He has also worked as a editorial writer.

He is the author of "False Economy", a popular economic history of the world published by Penguin, and "Who's In Charge Here?", a critique of policymakers’ responses to the 2008 global economic crisis.

When global leaders are facing crisis or excited to unlock opportunity, they turn to Anita Mendiratta. Globally recognised and respected as an executive advisor, author, diplomat, and on-air personality in Tourism and Development, Anita runs a successful London-based international consulting firm ANITA MENDIRATTA & ASSOCIATES - WWW.ANITAMENDIRATTA.COM – a global consulting firm working closely with senior leaders in governments, businesses, and international organisations.

With 20+ years of professional and living experience across almost all continents, Anita is admired for having an innate ability to feel the ‘heartbeat’ behind the economic, social, political and environmental dynamics of nations.

Most recently, Anita has taken on a critical role of trusted advisor, guiding leaders and educators for knowledge upliftment and decision-making vital to inclusive, and sustainable recovery of global Travel, Tourism and Aviation in a post-COVID world. Directly aligned to this position of leadership, Anita is honoured to be:

• SPECIAL ADVISOR to the Secretary General of the UNITED NATIONS WORLD TOURISM ORGANISATION (UNWTO)
• STRATEGIC ADVISOR to CNN INTERNATIONAL
• EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE at the University of Surrey, UK
• VISITING PROFESSOR at Cranfield University, UK

Anita’s global impact has resulted in her securing a respected position within the international leadership community including being recognised year after year as a global example of purposeful, inspiring leadership including:

• 'Most Influential Woman in Tourism’ in 2019,
• ‘Top 25 Inspirational Executives in Travel/Hospitality’ in 2021,
• ‘Most Innovative Women Leaders Inspiring the World’ in 2022, and
• ‘Top 25 Inspirational Executives in Travel/Hospitality’ in 2023.

Anna Stewart is a CNN reporter based in the network's London bureau. She is the presenter of CNN's Marketplace Europe. She covers topics related mainly to international business and the British Royal Family.

Stewart reports daily on the latest global economic and financial news for CNN's flagship business programmes: First Move with Julia Chatterley and Quest Means Business.

Stewart has previously hosted CNN's Passion to Portfolio, travelling the globe telling the stories of entrepreneurs who have turned personal dreams into professional success. Stewart has also hosted CNN Equestrian across Europe, and reported for Marketplace Africa from South Africa.

In 2018 Stewart played a key role in CNN's coverage of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, playing into live news for CNN International, CNN Domestic and HLN. She also reported on the couple's Royal tour of the UK and Ireland, in the months running up to the big day. In resposne to the 2020 coronavirus crisis, Stewart launched 'The Good Stuff', a strand of 60 second reports focusing on positive news stories.

Stewart has previously worked at CNBC. She was awarded an academic scholarship by the University of Oxford- where she received a B.A. in English Literature. She was also awarded the Oxford Gibbs prize for achievement.

Based in New Delhi, Mr. Wilson joined Air India in mid-2022 after 26 years with Singapore Airlines (SIA) working in various senior roles for both, the flagship airline as well as Scoot, its wholly owned low-cost subsidiary, of which he was the founding CEO.

As CEO & MD, Mr Wilson is leading Vihaan.AI, Air India’s comprehensive five-year program to transform the formerly state-owned carrier, now part of the Tata Group, into a world-class global airline with an Indian heart. Air India’s transformation has already seen the airline place the largest single order for new aircraft in aviation history, comprising 470 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. It also entails a complete overhaul of equipment, product, technology, systems and culture, and a dramatic network expansion.

In addition to the transformation of the flagship airline, Mr Wilson is steering the integration of subsidiary airlines Air India Express and Air Asia India into a single low-cost carrier, and, subject to regulatory approvals, the merger of Air India with Vistara, a full-service airline co-owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines. To support the Group’s growth, Air India is also in the process of building a world-class Training Academy for pilots, cabin crew, engineers and a skilled workforce that will also support the Indian aviation ecosystem.

Mr. Wilson (born July 1971 in Christchurch, New Zealand) began his career with SIA in New Zealand in 1996 after obtaining a Master of Commerce with 1st Class Honours in Business Administration from the University of Canterbury. He worked for SIA in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO of Scoot until 2016. He then served on SIA’s Management Committee as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, before returning for a second stint as the CEO of Scoot in 2020.

Christina Cassotis is Chief Executive Officer of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Allegheny County Airport (AGC), in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Under Christina’s leadership, PIT has been transformed into a world-leading, origin-and-destination airport with record growth. She has recruited multiple new domestic and international carriers, including passenger and cargo service. At the same time, AGC has experienced its own renaissance, capitalizing on the growth of private flying.

Christina has reshaped the long-term strategy for the region’s airports and is actively redefining what it means to be an airport that serves a local, regional and global community. She currently is leading an ambitious billion-dollar construction project to build a modern, smart terminal for PIT, with a particular focus on creating an experience that serves a post-pandemic society. PIT broke ground in 2021 and is scheduled to complete construction in early 2025.

Further, by recognizing vulnerabilities airports face every day, Christina directed the creation of a microgrid for PIT, making it the first major airport in the world to be completely powered by locally-sourced natural gas and solar energy, operating independently and off the power grid. As such, PIT is now one of the most resilient airports in the world.

The daughter of a military and commercial pilot, Christina began her career in commercial aviation working for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan International Airport. She went on to serve as Managing Officer for Airport Services for SH&E, leading a global team of aviation consultants.

Christina earned a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Fatih Birol (@fbirol) has served as Executive Director of the IEA since 2015, taking up his current position after rising through the ranks of the IEA over two decades. He has been named in TIME's annual list of the world's most influential people and by Forbes as one of the most influential people in the world of energy. He chairs the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and is the recipient of numerous state decorations, including the French Legion of Honour and the Japanese Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun.

Florian Allroggen is the Executive Director Aerospace Climate & Sustainability in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In this role, he co-leads the MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, the MIT Zero Impact Aviation Alliance, and the Transportation pathway in the MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium (MCSC). He is also the lead instructor for MIT’s Airline Industry Class.

For many years, Florian has focused on understanding the contribution of air transportation to economic development, on its environmental externalities, and on policies and technologies to mitigate aviation’s environmental footprint. Recent work aims to better understand and reduce climate impacts, specifically through adoption of low-carbon fuels and through contrail mitigation measures. To assess solutions, Florian develops and applies methods for techno-economic and lifecycle assessments, policy analyses, cost-benefit analysis, energy potential assessments, and market response modelling.

Florian holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Münster (Germany).

Greg Foran started as Chief Executive Officer of Air New Zealand on 3 February 2020. He has since been navigating the airline through the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a plan for Air New Zealand to survive, revive and then thrive. He is also a member of the China Business Council.

Greg joined the airline from Walmart U.S where he was Chief Executive Officer from 2014 to 2019.  He was responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the company’s 4,600 stores and more than 1 million staff. In 2019, Walmart U.S. served more than 140 million customers a week and had revenues of $307 billion.

Greg joined Walmart International in 2011 and served in several capacities, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart China. Prior to joining Walmart International he held several senior positions with Woolworths, the leading retailer in Australia and New Zealand. 

Greg has attended Advanced Management Programs at Harvard University and the University of Virginia. He also holds a Diploma in Management from the New Zealand Institute of Management.

Güliz Öztürk started her career at Turkish Airlines. From 1990 to 2003, she served as Manager of International Relations and Agreements, Vice President of Marketing & Alliance Coordinator, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Turkish Airlines.

During that time, she managed important projects such as launching the first code-share flights, execution of the alliance projects, launch of the airline’s loyalty and bank card programs and the first website as well as implementation of the online ticket sales. Between 2003 and 2005, she served as Aviation and Tourism Project Coordinator and Director of Human Resources at Ciner Holding.

In 2005, she joined Pegasus Airlines as Head of Scheduled Flights to manage the launch of the airline’s scheduled services. In 2008, she was appointed as Sales Director. Güliz Öztürk, who was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer responsible for the commercial department, which includes Sales, Network Planning, Marketing, Revenue Management and Pricing, Cargo and Guest Experience, in 2010 and assumed this important role for 12 years, has been working as CEO of Pegasus Airlines as of May 2022.

Güliz Öztürk is a graduate of Kadıköy Anadolu High School and the department of psychology at Boğaziçi University, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Columbia Business School in 2018. A Member of the Board of Advisors of Özyeğin University’s Faculty of Aviation, Güliz Öztürk, is also Co-Chair of the Women in Sales Network (WiSN) social project, which works with the mission of ensuring the balance between men and women in the sales departments of companies, on the Sales Network platform.

Ms Jo-Ann Tan was promoted to Senior Vice President Marketing Planning on  1 April 2021. Ms Tan joined Singapore Airlines in 1999 and has worked in the Passenger Marketing and E-Commerce Development departments. She was appointed Ticketing Manager (Development) and then Passenger Services Manager (Service Centre) in 2003. She was subsequently posted overseas as Manager Northern China and Manager Victoria and Tasmania.

She returned to head office in 2006 as Senior Manager Network Planning and held senior management positions in the Cabin Crew Planning and Training, Loyalty Marketing and Network Revenue Management departments. Ms Tan was promoted to Divisional Vice President Business Transformation in 2017. In that role, she successfully drove the Company’s Transformation programme that initiated projects such as the integration of SilkAir into SIA and the SIA-SATS joint review, as well as other new business opportunities.

Ms Tan graduated from Imperial College in the UK with a Master of Engineering.

Jo has almost 25 years of experience in the tourism sector and has been working directly on sustainable tourism activities since 2007.  In 2010 she was highly commended for her personal contribution to responsible tourism at the World Travel Market Responsible Tourism Awards.  Her focus on eliminating and reducing single-use plastic products from hotels and accommodations began back in 2011 and she subsequently founded Travel Without Plastic in 2017.

Since then, the organisation has become a trusted name within the industry, leading Jo to deliver waste reduction projects such as the Plastic Free Holidays Programme in the Balearic Islands and Plastic Free Laos in South East Asia.  Clients include IHG, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, WWF Bonaire, Cabildo de Fuerteventura and  Turismo de Portugal.   She has a Master’s Degree in Responsible Tourism Management and is the author of 'Rethinking Single Use Plastic Products in Travel & Tourism' published by UNEP and the WTTC.

John W. Dietrich is President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, a $4.8 billion revenue publicly-traded company (Nasdaq: AAWW). AAWW is the leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services.
Mr. Dietrich has over 35 years’ of experience with multi-national, public companies, including all facets of aviation and airline management. He is responsible for strategic oversight for Atlas Air Worldwide and its subsidiaries, including its two global operating airlines - Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide (a joint venture airline with DHL Express), and its aviation leasing company, Titan Aviation Holdings.
The Atlas Air Worldwide companies serve the fast-growing e-commerce, express and general airfreight markets in over 400 destinations in over 90 countries, and are a major supplier to Amazon, DHL, FedEx, UPS and the US military. Together, they support the global supply chain by operating the world’s largest fleet of 747 freighter aircraft as well as the broadest array of Boeing 777, 767 and 737 aircraft and complementary aviation services.
Mr. Dietrich assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in January 2020. Before that appointment, Mr. Dietrich served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from September 2006 to December 2019. He joined Atlas Air Worldwide in 1999 as Associate General Counsel and subsequently served as its Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. In that role, he also had responsibility for Human Resources, IT and Corporate Communications.
Under Mr. Dietrich’s leadership, the company has significantly grown its revenues and diversified its service offerings, building from a single-gauge 747 cargo business to multiple gauges of aircraft and expansion into the fast-growing express and e-commerce businesses. He also led the expansion into passenger service and aircraft leasing. He introduced the highly successful joint venture with DHL through its Polar Air Cargo subsidiary. Mr. Dietrich is also responsible for the establishment and expansion of the company’s military business in both cargo and passenger sectors.

Jonathan's new role in ANZ's Sustainable Finance and Environmental Markets division draws on his global banking relationships, and extensive structured finance and advisory experience, developed over 20 years across the resources, energy and infrastructure industry in ANZ and the Australian subsidiary of Rothschild & Co. He has originated opportunities and led multi-disciplinary bank teams, that have successfully structured and executed award winning innovative transactions, including one of the largest project financings in the world.

With the benefit of his earth sciences and engineering qualifications, networks, and experience, he has pivoted towards building capability in the development of nature based solutions and related environmental markets. Over the last 2 years he has built a track record of originating and incubating large scalable transition projects that aim to deliver breakthrough outcomes for climate, nature, and community.

Since his move from ANZ's Resources Energy and Infrastructure division, Jonathan has originated and led the incubation of three breakthrough transition projects, which have all achieved major evaluation, development, and funding milestones. The projects span native terrestrial and marine reforestation based carbon projects, and waste to renewable energy and chemical projects. These include the development of a 3rd generation feed stock based SAF and renewable diesel production platform, leveraging new technologies and focused on the APAC region.

Jonathan’s passion and focus is to deliver a pipeline of high impact scalable transition projects for ANZ and its globally diverse clients, that supports a 2030 nature positive decarbonisation pathway. He believes that nature-based solutions linked to terrestrial and marine reforestation, recycling of polluting waste streams, and production of advanced renewable biofuels/chemicals are fundamental to meeting 2030 climate and nature positive targets for rich and poor economies.

Juha Järvinen is Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic with 25 years’ aviation experience. He leads the Commercial revenue unit with responsibility for Network Planning, Joint Venture with Delta & Air France KLM, Alliances & Partnerships, Global Sales, Revenue Management, Distribution, Holidays tour operator and Cargo business units, and core contribution to becoming the most loved travel company. Virgin Atlantic is UK’s 2nd largest long-haul airline with home bases at London Heathrow and Manchester. The iconic airline was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 1984, and is owned by Virgin Group 51% and Delta Air Lines with 49%.

Juha joined Virgin Atlantic as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2019 from Finnair Plc, where he had been Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Board Member since 2014 and Managing Director of Finnair Cargo from 2012 to 2016. During this period Juha led the airline’s commercial function into oneworld joint ventures on North Atlantic and Japan traffic, making Finnair the largest European carrier in Japan as well as drove major growth in Greater China and other Asian regions, building Helsinki as the fastest hub gateway between Europe and Asia. Prior to Finnair, Juha held a number of senior commercial and operations positions at SAS Scandinavian Airlines during his 14 years at the airline.

Juha was board member, Chairman and President Emeritus of the Airline Passenger Experience Association [APEX] Board, a US based non-profit association representing the global airline, technology and entertainment industry during 2016-2021. The association thrives to elevate improvements in customer experience, digitalisation and created APEX Official Airline Ratings and Awards during his tenure. Juha holds an MBA from Danube University in Austria and a BA Honours from London Metropolitan University. He resides in London with his spouse. Experiences curious Finn loves travelling and exploring the world. Enjoys gym training and completely switches off at bikram hot yoga class.

Juliana brings over 20 years of expertise in services and technology in finance and airline industries. Her experience covers business transformation, M&A, digitization, IT, and management of large-scale projects such as PSS migration.

In her current role as Chief Digital and IT Officer she leads LATAM Airlines Digital transformation efforts whilst maintaining the applications and infrastructure of the company operating successfully.

Before joining LATAM Airlines in 2015, Juliana was a senior executive at Banco Santander in Brazil heading the retail business strategy and customer experience. She led integration programs in Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands.

Juliana holds a university diploma in business administration and a MBA in corporate management from IBMEC, Brazil.

Juliana is Brazilian living in Chile with her husband and two kids, her personal interests are travelling, cooking, crafting in general and playing time with her kids.

Laurence Wildgoose was appointed as the Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and Environment at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 2021.

In this role, he is responsible for leading the FAA's policy efforts to improve the safety and capacity of the global aerospace system in an environmentally sound  manner. His focus is on assisting with the FAA's reauthorization efforts, improving the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System, and advancing innovation-friendly policies related to the safe integration of new entrants, including unmanned aircraft systems. In addition, Laurence oversees the agency's international activity, including advancing the FAA's global leadership on safety and environmental initiatives.

Prior to joining the FAA, Laurence served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, Transportation, where he handled aviation safety and security issues related to the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. He most recently served under the leadership of Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), after joining the committee under then-Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL).

Laurence earned an M.B.A. from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a B.A. from Florida State University.

Leanne has had a career in Aviation and Tourism spanning almost 30 years. She joined Air New Zealand in 2004 and was appointed the Chief Customer and Sales Officer in October 2020. In this role she oversees the global sales, brand, marketing, commercial, customer experience, customer care and offshore airports functions.

During her time with Air New Zealand, Leanne has held a number of senior commercial, operational and sales positions in both Australia and New Zealand. Before joining the Executive team, Leanne was the Group General Manager Airports, and was responsible for more than 1,800 employees and operations across 50 airports internationally.

Leanne holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from the University of New South Wales and is also a graduate of the Company Directors course from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has studied Marketing at the Australian Institute of Marketing and most recently studied International Business management at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland where she completed an Advanced Management Program.

She has served as the President of the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand, the Chair of the Board of Airlines Representatives Australia and on the Aviation Panel of the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia.

María Jesús López Solás is responsible for sales, network development, and alliances for Spain’s flag carrier Iberia Airlines. She plans the map of Iberia destinations and develops strategic alliances with other airlines, while seeking to increase revenues by devising commercial strategies, and through revenue management, digital business, sales, distribution, and ancillary activities. She is  a member of the boards of Iberia, IberiaExpress, IAG Loyalty, and Iberia Cards. Previously she served as Customers and Loyalty Manager, and Network Development Manager.

Before joining Iberia, she worked in Chile and in Brazil, holding several positions in the airline LATAM, also in network planning, route management, and commercial strategy. She also worked with Endeavor as a business consultant for Latin American entrepreneurs.

She began her career as a strategic consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, designing and implementing transformation strategies and projects for companies in the financial, consumer goods, telecommunications, and energy sectors.

Ms. López Solás holds a degree in business administration and management from ICADE at Spain’s Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, and she earned an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

See Marie's bio and photos

Born in 1964 in Bursa, Executive Board Member of Association of Turkish Travel Agencies. (TURSAB), in charge of Airlines, Ticketing and IATA Matters.

Since 1987 During is TURSAB career Mr. Olcar had many active duties in the organization such as at the committees, branches, etc. Also, still active on APJC- Türkiye and P.A.P.G.J.C.

Numan Olcar started his professional tourism career in 1987 and founded Olcartour Destination and Management Company in same year as an inbound and outbound tour operator in Mersin. Then in next 5 years Olcartour established branch offices in the major touristic places of Türkiye such as Istanbul, Gocek etc. Over the past 35 years, the company has grown dynamically to become one of the strongest tourism companies in Türkiye. Olcar has served as Chairman and CEO of Olcartour DMC from its founding to the present.

During his career, Olcar, created 5 sub brands under the main company umbrella. In different terms, he had been invited as a board member of the 2 different private sector airlines for in charge of the regional establishments.  In 2007 Olcar was appointed as the President of Mersin Tourism Platform which was an E.U. Project about (R.I.S.) Regional Innovation Strategies.

In the diplomatic realm, Olcar proudly serves as an Honorary Consul General to the Republic of South Africa in Türkiye since 1993, beside he is active member of SKAL International, member of executive committee of Mersin Chamber of Shipping.

Starting his engineering career in Formula One in 1987, Paddy Lowe is widely recognised for his achievements as an innovator and technical director. A score of 12 World Championships and 158 race wins on his watch is amongst the very highest in the history of the sport.

Along the way he was Technical Director for the first 53 wins of Hamilton’s record-breaking career, has worked in total with 11 World Champion drivers (Lauda, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Hill, Hakkinen, Raikkonen, Alonso, Button, Rosberg, Hamilton), invented exciting systems such as active suspension, traction control and driving simulators, and lead the Mercedes team to the most successful season ever recorded: 19 wins from 21 races in 2016.

Paddy is not only a technician: he is a deep thinker, strategist and inspirational leader of teams – recognised as such within several books including Alastair Campbell’s “Winners and How They Succeed”. Paddy’s capability in Formula One has now been translated to the world of clean energy where in 2021 he has already secured the Guinness World Records® title of “First Aircraft Powered by Synthetic Fuel” within the company Zero Petroleum which he founded in 2020.

Paul Griffiths is CEO of Dubai Airports, with the responsibility for the operation and development of Dubai International (DXB)–the world’s busiest airport for international passengers,as well as Dubai World Central (DWC).

Paul joined Dubai Airports as its first CEO in October 2007. Ayear later, on 14 October, Paulwas instrumental in the flawless launch of Terminal 3 at DXBand on 27 June 2010 successfully opened the Emirate’s second airport, DWC. He achieved another milestone in Dubai’s aviation history on 2 January 2013 with the opening of Concourse A, the world’s first purpose-built A380 facility and again with Concourse D on February 24, 2016. Paul also oversaw the opening of the passenger terminal at DWC on 27 October 2013. On December 20, 2018, Paul joined Dubai Airports’Chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in welcoming DXB’s billionth passenger.

Under Paul’s leadership, Dubai Airports successfully managed through the Covid-19 crisis –acknowledged by the world’s aviation and airline industry as a challengeunprecedented in history andbecame one of the earliest hubs to welcome back international tourists. He led the teams at DXB and DWC to support amassive repatriation operation in close coordination with diplomatic missions, UAE authorities, airlines,and other service partners to help nearly half a million people get back to their homes during the first global lockdown in 2020.

Paul played a crucial role in the recovery of DXB’s operations and growth through travel corridor arrangements with several key markets as well as by lobbying the industry to push for standardised testing-based travel protocols. Paul spearheaded a campaignto keep the hibernating parts of the airport ready for reopening at very short notice which played a critical role in enablingthe timely and smooth reopening of Terminal 1 and Concourse D in June 2021 and Concourse A in November 2021.

Prior to moving toDubai, Paul was MDof London’s Gatwick Airport. Before joining airport operator BAA in 2004, he spent 14 years with the Virgin Group, working closely with Sir Richard Branson as a Board Director of the Virgin Travel Group, responsible forthe commercial activities of both Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Trains.

Paul Terstegge is Executive Vice President Inflight Services at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is responsible for KLM’s 9000 cabin crew and its onboard product and service. Paul has a broad experience in the airline industry in a variety of commercial, operational, and strategic positions at Air France KLM. He is committed to contribute to creating sustainable aviation.

Ms Poppy Khoza has 20 years’ experience in the civil aviation industry and 18 years’ experience in senior management positions. Ms Khoza was reappointed for a second five-year term as Director of Civil Aviation (CEO) at  the SACAA, effective from 01 December 2018. She is the first woman to have occupied this position since the inception of the SACAA.

She served for two years consecutively as the first woman Chairperson of the UN Agency’s International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Aviation Security Panel. Prior to becoming the Chairperson, she had served for 2 years as Deputy Chairperson.

Ms Khoza is a recipient of many accolades including the Aviation Sector and Regional Leader Award, Best Chief Executive Officer Awards, Top Empowered Business Leader, Public Service Leader of the year, Winner as South Africa’s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government in the Agencies and Regulatory Authorities category. She was also recognised internationally for her contribution to Aviation Safety and Security by the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development. Recently she received recognition by the African Civil Aviation Commission and the AFI group for her contribution to the development of civil aviation in Africa.

Ms Khoza is the first recipient of the Foundation's Gloria Heath Trophy, which recognises a woman for notable achievements in civil aviation, bestowed on her by the Flight Safety Foundation in June 2022. She was selected to receive the award from an accomplished group of nominees, because of her leadership and the achievements of the SACAA during her tenure, and for her role in promoting gender diversity in international aviation. She was also unanimously elected by the ICAO Member States to serve as President for the 41st ICAO Assembly, that consisted of delegates from 193 countries and took place from 27 September\ until 7 October 2022.

Under her stewardship, the SACAA scooped the Best Performing Institution in Transport Award on four (4) occasions, making the SACAA the only entity to have received this prestigious accolade. The SACAA has achieved nine clean audits over ten financial years and also received six awards from the Auditor-General of South Africa for clean audit outcomes. The entity was also bestowed with the Top Performing Public Service Award and was declared a Winner in the category of Investing in People at the National Business Awards. Furthermore, the SACAA is the recipient of an award as a Transformation Champion at the Oliver Top Empowerment Awards.

Under Ms Khoza’s leadership, the SACAA continues to make strides in improving aviation safety and security in South Africa. Ms Khoza has championed the transformation of the SACAA, and it now boasts 45% capable women Executives, 51% female employees and 89% Black employees in the organisation. Ms Khoza was also instrumental in the initiative to host the first-ever Global Aviation Gender Summit that was hosted in August 2018 in South Africa, in collaboration with ICAO, UNESCO and UN Women. Ms Khoza is very passionate about meaningful change and aspires to provide good leadership in the aviation sector.

Dr. Preeti Jain (PhD, MBA) is Global Director (Policy, Chemicals & Carbon Solution) with ‘LanzaTech: a carbon capture and transformation’ leader creating a sustainable future for all. A ‘World Economic Forum Agenda Contributor’, she is passionate advocate for science-based policies.

A Scientist by training (PhD, Chemistry) and MBA (AIM, Philippines); she brings 20 years of diverse geographical (SE Asia, Middle East, US) experience spread across refining & petrochemicals, renewables energy, R&D, International Advisory etc. where she contributed to craft conducive policies and support businesses towards energy transition, sustainability & climate change.

In the past, she worked with prestigious National Committee on Auto Fuel Policy, Indian Clear Air Program, Source Apportionment in Indian Cities, National Energy Policy etc.; to bridge between science & technology for enabling sustainable growth and people at large.

Currently she represents leading national industry forums continuing her journey to bring climate change at the heart of policy discussions including.

• Member National Task Force on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Roadmap
• Co-Chair CII Bioenergy Sub-Committee on SAF
• Member USISPF Indo-US Biofuels Task Force
• Member Governing Council Member of CBEII
• Member India Chemical Council
• Member Task Force on CCUS towards decarbonization of Steel sector
• Member AMCHAM Aviation and D&I Committee etc.

A ‘Fulbright Scholar by US DoE for Environment Leadership’, Dr. Jain is an ardent believer in enhancing women’s equity in the energy sector.

Ralph Ossa is Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division at the World Trade Organization. He joined the World Trade Organization after a distinguished career in academia with appointments at Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Zurich.

Prof Ossa's research focuses on international economics with a particular emphasis on questions of policy relevance. For example, he has explored the economics of trade wars and trade talks and estimated how much countries gain from international trade.

He holds a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics.

Richard Quest is CNN's foremost international business correspondent and anchor of Quest Means Business, the definitive word on how we earn and spend our money. Based in New York, he is one of the most instantly recognizable members of the CNN team.

Additionally, Quest is the host of two of CNN International's signature monthly feature programs: Business Traveller, which covers global business travel trends, issues and innovations of the travel industry, and Quest's World of Wonder, an immersive travel series that finds Quest exploring a new destination each month and meeting fascinating people who reveal the heart of the city.

Quest also serves as CNN Business editor-at-large and often hosts the digital live financial show "Markets Now" live streamed from the floor of the NYSE every Wednesday at 12:45pm ET at CNNMoney.com/MarketsNow.

Quest Means Business, which airs weekdays at 3pm ET / 8pm BST on CNN International, destroys the myth that business is boring, bridging the gap between hard economics and entertaining television. CEOs and global finance ministers make a point of appearing on QMB. Guests of the show include the biggest names in banking like Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida and Robert Zoellick, the former President of the World Bank; European policy makers including former IMF chiefs Christine Lagarde and Dominique Strauss-Kahn as well as former EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, and some of the most influential names in corporate America including Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey and Hans Vestberg of Verizon.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact economies and businesses around the world, Quest regularly interviews leaders across pharmaceutical, technology, aviation, travel and tourism industries including Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaoui, Moderna chairman Noubar Afeyan, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, and IMF's chief economist Gita Gopinath.

Quest's dynamic and distinctive style has made him a unique figure in the field of business broadcasting. He has regularly reported from G20 meetings and attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland each year. Quest has covered every major stock market and financial crisis since Black Monday in 1987 and has reported from key financial centers globally including Wall Street, London, Sao Paolo, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In addition, Quest is the established airline and aviation correspondent at CNN. He has interviewed all of the major airline executives including current Delta CEO Ed Bastian, former Delta CEO Richard Anderson, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, United CEO Scott Kirby, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, Emirates CEO Tim Clark, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. He has covered a number of breaking aviation stories like the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo crash and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Quest is the author of 'The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing Malaysian Plane,' which details his unique perspective on covering MH370 for CNN.

Quest is also the face of CNN's coverage of major UK events. He led CNN's coverage of the 'Brexit' vote in 2016, and has continued to report on the impact the historic vote is making on markets, economies and businesses. He used his expert knowledge of the British Royal Family to front the channel's coverage of the 2018 marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle; the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 live from the banks of the River Thames; and the 2011 marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

His coverage of breaking news, which has spanned more than two decades, has seen him report on a range of stories from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the death of Yasser Arafat, the Lockerbie Pan Am 103 crash to the death of Michael Jackson. Quest is more than just business; there are few journalists who have had guests as varied, from His Holiness, The Dalai Lama to actress Joan Collins to founder of Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) awarded Quest the 2013 UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of his work as a business journalist reporting on the tourism industry.

Prior to joining CNN, he worked at the BBC, where he was the North America business correspondent, based on Wall Street for 12 years.

Quest is British, holds an LLB (Hons) degree in Law from Leeds University, and was called to the Bar.

Robin Hayes is chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways Corp., which encompasses JetBlue – New York’s Hometown Airline® – as well as subsidiaries JetBlue Technology Ventures and JetBlue Travel Products.

He joined JetBlue in 2008 and served as the company’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer until becoming president of the airline in January 2014. In February 2015 he was appointed as JetBlue’s third chief executive officer, serving as president and CEO until 2018.

Prior to joining JetBlue, Robin was executive vice president for the Americas at British Airways. Over the span of a wide-ranging 19-year career with BA, he also served as area general manager for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

He serves as chair of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA); vice chair of the board of Airlines for America (A4A); and a member of the board of KeyCorp; Make-A-Wish Connecticut; and the Wings Club Foundation.

Robin is a graduate in electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. He received a BSc and a master’s in engineering from the university.

Susan Doniz is the chief information officer of The Boeing Company and senior vice president of Information Technology & Data Analytics, where she leads all aspects of information technology, information security, data and analytics. She also supports the growth of Boeing's business through IT and analytics-related revenue-generating programs. She has had a successful career in the technology industry and has held leadership positions in major companies, including Qantas Airways, Procter & Gamble and SAP, while also serving on various nonprofit organization boards.

Dr. Valerie Hackl has been Managing Director of Austro Control since January 2019. Austro Control is an Austrian company responsible for the safe air traffic management in Austrian airspace. The company spectrum ranges from passenger aviation to drone traffic management.

Prior to her current position she had been appointed as Member of the Executive Board at ÖBBPersonenverkehr AG, Austria's largest mobility service provider, where she launched the Nightjet service, Europe’s largest nighttrain network. She started her career as a consultant for Bain & Company, one of the world’s leading management consulting companies.

Valerie studied Business Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and at the University of British Columbia / Vancouver. She obtained her doctoral degree at the Swiss Research Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Gallen.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo is an accomplished business leader serving as the CEO of RwandAir, Rwanda's national flag carrier, since 2018. With a rich professional background, she embarked on her journey with RwandAir in April 2017, initially joining as the Deputy CEO in Charge of Corporate Affairs. Before her tenure at RwandAir, Yvonne held prominent roles at MTN Rwanda, the largest telecommunication company in the country, where she notably served as the Chief Marketing Officer and briefly acted as the CEO.

Yvonne's expertise is further strengthened by her educational background, including a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Information Technology. With over 11 years of valuable commercial experience, she has proven her aptitude for strategic decision-making and driving organizational growth.

As a visionary leader in the aviation industry, Yvonne Manzi Makolo continues to guide RwandAir towards new heights, ensuring its prominence as a symbol of national pride and excellence in Rwanda.