Chief Technology Officer of Hermes Logistics Technologies, Alex started working with HLT a little over two years ago. New to the world of air cargo, but a veteran of digital transformation from his previous architecture and software engineering background, Alex has brought HLT to the digital era to empower HLT customers and the wider cargo community in order to face today's cargo challenges, reduce software entry costs and promote supply chain event/data sharing whilst promoting full cloud elasticity.
Based at Vallair’s Luxembourg headquarters, Alistair Dibisceglia is the Chief Leasing and Trading Officer (CCO) within Vallair Solutions, with responsibility for all commercial activities. Alistair has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and 20 years' experience in the airline and aviation leasing sectors, with deep metal knowledge, aircraft and engine transaction execution experience, and with customer relationships all over the world. Prior to his position at Vallair, Alistair worked with the Italian government and with Alitalia as Executive Vice President Fleet, Technical Procurement & Logistics. His aim there was to restructure all the leasing and MRO agreements and support the sale of the airline, whilst maintaining responsibility for the technical spending of the airline.
Altay has over 20 years of work experience in different sectors within aviation. He started his aviation career in ground handling, mainly in operational, planning and commercial positions. He joined INFORM in 1997 as a Consultant and Project Manager, conducting a series of international projects within Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Africa. His current position is Vice President Business Development at the company's Aviation Division. He is responsible for the aviation divisions marketing and sales activities together with his team. Altay has a Business Administration degree from EMU University and a Master's in Business Administration from Bradford University School of Management in the UK.
Benoît is an international and multicultural leader with a wide blend of skills from strategy development to operational/line responsibility in complex and service-related businesses. He worked for McKinsey & Company in senior business development and service performance management roles from 1999 to 2004. He joined DHL Express Europe in 2004 and DHL Supply Chain EMEA in 2009, where he held the positions of Director of Operations, Managing Director, Senior VP of Operations and CEO Germany, Alps & Nordics. Benoît was appointed CEO of Unilode in September 2017. He has a Master's in International Finance and Economics from the Sorbonne University, a Superior Master’s Degree in International Logistics Management from the University of the Mediterranean and has completed the Executive Development Programme of the Columbia Business School.
Christian is the Director Network Airside & Airport Affairs for DHL in Europe and has been in his current position since January 2011. His responsibilities range from ramp safety, airside related training and ground handling contracts up to aircraft weight and balance systems and DHL`s Operations Standards, which are a key connecting link between airline and ground operations. Prior to this he had been managing the Network Operations Control Centre of DHL's biggest hub in Leipzig. Before joining DHL in January 2009, Christian filled a number of management positions in the aviation industry, with a strong focus on ground handling and cargo operations, including that of Station Manager in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Cologne for Swissport International. He is also the current Chair of the IATA AGSA Technical Group and a member of the IATA Cargo Handling Council.
Desiree is a recognised expert in the aviation industry for her work with leadership teams and individuals on leadership and professional development. Prior to her 18 years in aviation, Desiree lived in Argentina, then Germany, before being relocated to the US in 2011. Desiree served as a senior leader in the aviation industry on a global level, leading multicultural customer excellence teams for some of the most recognised airlines, airports and service providers. During that time she witnessed first-hand the importance of leadership development. Desiree currently speaks on the importance of leadership development in an ever-changing aviation environment, with an increased focus on profitability, customer service and safety.
Helmuth studied Law at Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich. After subsequent positions in international consulting firms and leading positions in the Daimler Benz Group, in 1993 he founded the consulting group Grolman.Result, which focuses on supporting technical innovation and transformation processes of leading international private and public organisations. In 2009, out of a German academy of technical sciences (ACATECH) desire for an efficient co-operation between economy, politics and science, he founded the Deutsches Dialog Institut. In 2011 he bought into the battery development company Kolibri Power Systems which through a management buyout in 2015 was turned into the product and solution provider Colibri Energy. Today he is CEO of the company.
With 29 years’ aviation experience, Liam has covered a wide variety of operational roles, from Ramp Services to Terminal Duty Manager, Airport Manager, Operations Manager, Senior Manager Airfield Operations and, more recently, Head of Airside. Over the past five years his primary focus has been on the restructuring of operational activities, in order to create a multi-skilled team encompassed within one single operational department, that of AirOps. As designated Safety Manager, his other key responsibilities include the ongoing development and management of the Operational Safety Management System, the Airside Training Programme and Competency Scheme, along with Summer and Winter Operations.
Max joined GHI in 2017 after launching and hosting conference and award events in the UK manufacturing industry. A trained journalist, Max strives to deliver innovative content on stage, online or in print that challenges, educates and entertains. As a non-aviation professional - Max is always eager to don the hi-vis jacket and get out on the apron to experience the everyday challenges facing ground handling businesses and their airline customers. Max graduated as a biochemist from Cardiff University in 2001. He became a NUJ/NCTJ accredited journalist in 2003. Max went on to an award-winning 14 year editorial career including stints at magazines in the UK pub, pharmacy and manufacturing sectors. Outside of work - Max is never far from a book, the fridge or the 5-a-side football pitch.
Peter is a partner in Clyde & Co's global aviation practice. Based in Hong Kong, Peter has over 27 years’ experience working for the aviation industry, including advising operators, passenger and cargo terminals, ramp operators, MROs, FBOs and logistics providers and their insurers on ground handling operations and contracts, contingency planning, emergency response, compliance, investigations, prosecutions, claims and debt recoveries and acquisitions. He regularly advises on the IATA SGHA and has handled some of the leading court cases on Article 8. Peter has worked for an airline and for law firms in the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Raul joined Menzies Aviation early in 2020 as SVP Commercial Operations and is leading the sales and operational growth for the group in the Americas. Prior to joining Menzies, Raul had a five year career with Swissport International in a number of roles including VP Sales, Marketing and Business Development, as well as leading the Cargo Handling Division for Swissport in Latin America. Before he joined the aviation industry, Raul had a 20 year career in supply chain management in strategic roles with companies such as Panalpina, SONY and IBM, working from different locations including Colombia, Canada, Thailand and the US. Raul is an industrial engineer and holds an MBA from York University.
Ruben started his career in Avianca as the Commercial and Airports Chief at Avianca Services. In 2015 he was promoted to Ground Operations Manager for the Bogota hub. Two years later Ruben assumed the post of Ground Operations Director, taking responsibility for all the below the wing operations (both in house and outsourced) of Avianca's network. Since September 2019 he has been Cargo Operations Director for the Avianca Cargo division. With more than 16 years of experience in the industry, Ruben holds a Business Administration degree, has a Master's in Business Administration and a Master's in Logistics and Operations; he has also accrued extensive training on related matters.
Thomas completed his MBA at the University of Denver. He has an outstanding track record in the area of sales and marketing across different industries, including ground handling. He worked as Operations Manager at Hapag-Lloyd in Chicago from 1996-1998; was Team Leader at the World Trade Center in Denver, from 1998-1999; and was Director of International Operations at GAKO International in Zurich from 1999 to 2006. From 2006 to 2008 he was International Market Development Manager at CWS-BOCO before taking Directorship roles in key account management and business development functions at Hilti in Zurich. Thomas was subsequently Vice President Global Key Account Management (2013-2016) and Vice President Commercial Africa & Middle East (2016-2018) at Swissport International. Currently, he serves as Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing at Celebi Aviation Holding.
Wolfgang has more than 20 years of experience in aviation. He held numerous management positions in ramp handling, cargo and passenger handling. He finally set up a centralised load control company before he decided to move into consulting. A specific passion of his is how people behave and decide. This led him into game theory and the quest to apply it to the aviation industry.
Fabio is a seasoned manager in air transport, with more than 20 years in the industry. He graduated from the International Relations Institute, in Switzerland, and then took a MA in International Relations at the University of Vienna. He started his career at CANSO, then joined Boeing as a Deputy Director Air Traffic Management in Brussels. He was subsequently made Deputy SG of the now defunct Association of European Airlines, before leading the European Business Aviation Association. He is currently managing the Airline Catering Association and the Airport Services Association.
Director
ABIAX AIR AVIATION
Gustavo is the Director of Abiax Air Aviation. Before co-founding Abiax Air in 2008, he was the Director of Strategy at the Latin American Airline Association, but also worked developing aviation projects for Canadian government. Before joining the aviation industry he held senior and CEO positions in the financial and insurance sectors within Latin America. Gustavo holds an MBA in Aviation Management from Concordia University, Montreal, a diploma in Sustainable Tourism and a degree in Business Administration. He teaches Evaluation of Investment Projects and Aviation Economics for Latin American civil aviation authorities. A writer, he has also participated in conferences as a speaker, moderator and chairman, and has attended more than 100 aviation and airport events.
Lars has over 30 years of international experience, with the last eight years of these spent at Vestergaard Company. There, he is responsible for the full line of Vestergaard products in parts of Northern Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, South Korea, and China. He also takes overall responsibility for marketing within the company.
