Strategy Summit Speakers
José Napoleón Duarte Durán
El Salvador Minister of Tourism, El Salvador Ministry of Tourism
The son of former President of the Republic of El Salvador, the late engineer Jose Napoleon Duarte and former First Lady of the Republic of El Salvador Doña Inés Duarte Durán
His first experiences as a professional and international policy maker was as at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). He was also responsible for carrying out the programs of micro and small enterprises in several Latin America countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay and Colombia.
He has been an advisor to the Management of High-Level Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank consultant, on the issue of decentralization and municipal development and finance.
Founder/President of the Association of Residents Salvadorans in the United States, Washington, worked and was one of the first promoters and defenders to drive TPS, through the Resident Association Salvadorans in the U.S.
Delegate and head of diplomatic missions in several countries. Successful entrepreneur, founder of financial companies. He also has founded specialized microfinance unions including: ASOMI, REDCAMIF SICSA. Founder and president of Micro S. A. C. V.
He serves as head of Tourism of El Salvador from June 1, 2009, appointment by the current president, Don Mauricio Funes, until May 2014.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Estuardo Ortiz
Executive VP and Chief Revenue Officer, Avianca
In 2005, Estuardo Ortiz joined TACA Airlines as VP of Sales and was promoted to VP Commercial in 2006. His managerial and leadership skills led him to be appointed as Chief Operating Officer of TACA Airlines in early 2009. As a result of the merger of Avianca and TACA, he was appointed as Executive Vice President and COO of the new integrated airline. He is responsible for all mainline operations, commercial areas, business units as Cargo and Lifemiles and Regional Airlines in Central America and Ecuador. He is a Member of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and key decision maker in the strategic and tactical performance of the company. Scope of the position includes total operating revenue of $4.7Bn with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft and around 18,000 collaborators in 25 countries.
One of the major achievements during post-merger-integration of Avianca and TACA is the identification and development of the detailed strategy and execution for the synergies of Avianca and TACA merger; capturing $210M+ or 7% of combined revenues in 2010-2012, compared to a 3.5% global industry benchmark.
He has participated as a speaker in several conventions and forums such as Future of Air Transport (Nov.2013, in the top 4 best speakers of the conference), ALTA conferences (2008, 2011, and 2012) and Routes Americas Conference (Feb.2012).
Participating Talks and Sessions
Pete McGlade
Sr. Strategic Advisor, Southwest Airlines
Pete McGlade was born in Newry, County Down, Ireland, but grew up in New York City and Yonkers, NY. In 1975 he earned a BS in General Management/Air Transportation from Purdue University.
He gained his exposure and experience in airline operations working for Northwest Orient Airlines, AirCal and PSA, where he created an early Revenue Management Department and developed planning skills necessary for the evolving marketplace requirements that deregulation required.
Mr. McGlade’s employment at Southwest Airlines began in 1983, where he has had the opportunity to help grow and develop a regional carrier of 39 aircraft to become the dominant U.S. domestic airline with over 700 scheduled aircraft.
As a Corporate Officer at Southwest Airlines, he was responsible for Network Planning Performance and System Development for 24 years. In his current position as a Senior Strategic Advisor, Mr. McGlade examines and studies long term strategic alternatives. His experience provides historical insight about Southwest Airline’s tradition of success and performance. In his leadership role, Mr. McGlade mentors and helps develop leadership within the company.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Hernan Pasman
Head of the Directorate LAN Colombia, LAN
Hernan Pasman in Industrial Engineering from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires and received an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management University of Northewestern. He began his career in 1995 with such companies as Motorola and Telefónica Argentina. Later he was associated Citicorp Equity Investments and for four years served as Project Manager at McKinsey and Company. Hernan has been at LAN for seven years, where he has served as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Management Control in the operational areas of LAN Airlines in Chile, in 2007 he served as COO of LAN Argentina and since 2010 has become the head of the Directorate Lan Colombia.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Juan-Emilio Posada
Executive Chairman, Irelandia Aviation, VivaColombia
Participating Talks and Sessions
Daniel Ketchibachian
Commercial Director, Corporación America
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mr. Daniel Marcos KETCHIBACHIAN is a Travel Retail Expert. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration awarded by the University of Buenos Aires, and has recently obtained an MBA degree in 2012.
His career began in 2000, as a Commercial Key Account Manager in Argentina Airports. His main duty consisted of sales and administration of commercial areas at the 33 Argentinian airports.
During the first half of 2003, he took over as CEO Duty Free Armenia, starting a Duty Free operation from scratch at the airport in Yerevan. Soon after that, he was named CEO Duty Paid Argentina, where he contributed to the opening of 6 branches at airports of Cordoba, Bariloche and Mendoza. He also renewed the image and layout of 1600m2 in Aeroparque incorporating national and international premium brands, generating confidence for their onset and stability.
From 2009 to 2011 he worked in the company IOSC as Commercial Manager in Montevideo. His main duties were, among others, the operations for Duty Free Shops in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Armenia.
In 2011, he participated in the Consortium Inframerica that won the first airport bid process of Brazil: the Natal Airport located in the North of Brazil. Six months later, the same consortium won the concession of Brasilia Airport, the third major airport in Brazil. Daniel KETCHIBACHIAN is currently Chief Commercial Officer of both airports in the Consortium Inframerica, consisting of Corporación América, the private operator with more airports worldwide and Infravix, Brazil’s largest consulting construction firm.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Ciro Camargo
Alliances, Gol Transportes Aereos
Participating Talks and Sessions
Todd Scott
Global Network Planning Manager, UPS
Todd began his career with UPS in the Chicago area in 1983. He spent eight years in the US domestic “ground” operations with various roles in both operations and Industrial Engineering. In late 1991, he became involved in UPS’s international division and relocated to UPS I.S. Headquarters in Mahwah, NJ. He then relocated again to the Corporate office in Atlanta, GA to help launch UPS’ “international service guarantee”. In 1993, Todd began his career on the aviation side of the business by relocating to UPS airline headquarters in Louisville, KY with various international and network planning roles and responsibilities. He has spent several years as director of Global Network Planning as well as director of Airline Long Range Planning, involving forecasting, strategic planning, fleet planning, aircraft acquisition, integration of the acquired Menlo freight operation, integration of new products, and numerous studies regarding network capacity.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Zhihang CHI
VP & General Manager, North America, Air China, Air China
As Vice President and General Manager for North America, Dr. Zhihang Chi manages all aspects of Air China’s business in the region and a team of 100-plus employees from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Dr. Chi’s extensive experience in the airline industry, his visionary leadership and passion in promoting a closer and mutually beneficial Sino-American relationship are credited for Air China’s expansion and aggressive growth in North America, particularly in Los Angeles.
He is a much sought-after speaker on topics ranging from US-China relations, trade, tourism and aviation.
In November 2011, Dr. Chi received the prestigious China Business Leadership Award from the U.S. China Policy Foundation. Each year the nonprofit, non-partisan, non-advocacy Washington, D.C.-based organization honors individuals who have made valuable contributions for the promotion of greater understanding between American and Chinese policymakers and government officials.
Dr. Chi’s experience, training and educational background have prepared him well for the challenges of his position as the head of Air China in North America. He worked in a number of increasingly responsible positions for Northwest Airlines from 1994 to 2003. During his years at Northwest, he developed and managed a number of strategic alliances with other international carriers, especially with the Chinese carriers.
He joined Air China in 2004 and has led the company’s unprecedented growth and significant investments in and contribution to the California economy. Before he was named Vice President and General Manager for North America in April 2008, Dr. Chi was General Manager, Western US. Prior to that, he ran Air China’s Los Angeles office. Dr. Chi’s unrelenting advocacy for travel facilitation for Chinese visitors has made him a familiar figure to senior members of the U.S. Congress, State Department and the U.S. Homeland Security with whom he has personally met. Fluent in English and Chinese, Dr. Chi’s background makes him uniquely qualified to speak on China and U.S.-China relations.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Dr. Chi was born in China. He earned his doctorate and master’s degrees from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received his bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Peking University in China.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Capt Jagmohan Singh
CEO, Caribbean Airlines
In June 2013, Captain Jagmohan Singh was appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Airlines. This follows his holding the post of Vice President Operations since March 2013 having held an acting position in the post from March 2012. Captain Singh started his pilot career in 1979. He has performed as Training officer for the pilots, Check Airman, Executive Manager Flight Operations and brings 34 years of industry experience to the airline.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Eduardo Iglesias
Executive Director, ALTA
Eduardo Iglesias is Executive Director of ALTA, the Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association since September 18, 2013. He leads the 30 year old non-profit association in a gamut of efforts and initiatives to make Latin American and Caribbean aviation safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
Eduardo possesses a wealth of senior industry experience acquired over a long and successful career in aviation. Most recently, he was Legal Vice President of Avianca. Prior to that, he was TACA International Airlines General Counsel, where he was responsible for contract negotiations, consumer protection claims, the representation in various legal and regulatory affairs committees and symposiums, and corporate and governmental affairs.
Iglesias holds Law Degrees from Spain and Puerto Rico, a Master's Degree in Law from McGill's Institute of Air and Space Law and also holds a B.A. in Political Science. He was born in Puerto Rico and has lived in Spain, USA, Canada, and El Salvador.
Beverly Nicholson
Chairperson, CTO and USVI Commissioner of Tourism
Beverly Nicholson-Doty serves as Commissioner of Tourism for the United States Virgin Islands, a cabinet-level position. She oversees the Department of Tourism’s advertising and marketing strategy, its national and international tourism-related efforts and product development.
Raised in St. Thomas, Mrs. Nicholson-Doty began her career in the hospitality industry while attending the College of the Virgin Islands.
In 1993, Nicholson-Doty joined the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel & Tourism Association as its Executive Director. In this position, her responsibilities included spearheading the implementation and development of the Association’s strategic plan. Nicholson-Doty oversaw the unification of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel & Tourism Association with the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association to create an integrated Association that strengthens the entire U.S. Virgin Islands hotel product while recognizing the unique offerings of each island. In 2004, she was appointed President of the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association.
Nicholson-Doty has served as Commissioner of the USVI Department of Tourism since 2007 and was elected Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Council of Ministers and Commissioners during the 2012 CTO State of the Industry Conference in St. Kitts.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Andrew O'Brian
President & CEO, Quito International Airport
Mr. O´Brian is a Canadian Executive with over 10 years’ experience in airport management and the aeronautical industry, whose professional life demonstrates his conviction to generate growth and efficiency in airport construction and transformation projects that have required significant capital investments. He is regarded as a prestigious team leader who works on offering exceptional value and critical business improvements. He is a highly experienced executive in airport management, including developing new routes to markets in North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia with a high focus on quality management, customer service and relationships with multiple stakeholders and government entities.
Mr. O´Brian is currently the President and CEO of Corporación Quiport S.A. in Ecuador, South America; a Brazilian, Canadian and USA international consortium.
Quiport is in charge of the construction, administration, operation and maintenance of the New Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito; a $700 million (USD) project which successful started operations on February 20th, 2013 and serves 6 million passengers annually. During the construction phase of the new facilities, Quiport administered and operated the previous city airport making several improvements in terms of security, operations and airport services for both airlines and passengers.
Before joining Quiport, Mr. O’Brian was Chief Executive Officer of AERODOM in the Dominican Republic where he operated and modernized six of the country’s international airports. In this role, he led over 700 management and staff to achieve the implementation of major capital investment EPC program in international and general aviation airports. He also managed the implementation of a Fixed Base Operator (FBO)and new jet fuelling services, and drove forward the implementation of the company SMS; taking the facilities to new heights of customer service and efficiency while managing important passenger throughput and a significant international cargo business.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Lee Lipton
Director of Air Service Marketing, Vantage Airport Group
Participating Talks and Sessions
Nigel Mayes
Vice President Commercial, UBM Live Routes
Nigel Mayes, with over 10 years experience in the aviation industry, is currently VP & Commercial for Routes. Previously, Nigel spent six years with ASM and was responsible for the delivery of many new routes for a number of airport clients including: Jet Airways, Etihad, Jetstar Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines for Kuala Lumpur; Air Asia X and PIA for London Stansted and Wizzair for Coventry Airport. Nigel has worked on and led a number of Route Development Projects across the globe including Darwin Airport, London Stansted, Katowice Airport, Malaysia Airports, Perth Airport, Rzezsow Airport and Sikhupe Airport. Prior to ASM, Nigel worked at Birmingham International Airport, where he was responsible for long-haul aviation business development.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Michael Bell
Consultant, Spencer Stuart
Michael is a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Miami office and leads the firm’s Global Aviation Practice. In this capacity, Michael provides top-level executive search and board director consulting and recruitment services to a broad range of clients in the aviation sector, spanning the airline, aerospace and airport sectors. Michael has led senior-level searches for numerous aviation organizations around the globe.
Michael is also a core member of Spencer Stuart’s Board Services Practice and has assisted numerous aviation and non-aviation sector clients in the recruitment of board directors.
Michael is a regular speaker at aviation industry conferences, having spoken at conferences across North, South and Central America, Europe and Africa.
Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Michael spent seven years with McKinsey & Company, the leading worldwide management consulting firm, most recently as a senior engagement manager. In that role, he was responsible for developing and managing consulting relationships with client organizations.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Aluizio Margarido
Commercial Director, Viracopos International Airport
Participating Talks and Sessions
Matt Cornelius
Managing Director of Air Policy, ACI-NA
Matt Cornelius joined ACI-NA in November 2012 and currently serves as the Managing Director of Air Policy. In this role, Matt monitors and advises on U.S., Canadian and international aviation regulations and issues including topics such as air service development, passenger facilitation, airport/airline agreements, and rates and charges policies, among others. Matt also serves as the secretary to the Facilitation Committee, the Large Hub Airport Caucus and the Air Service Work Group.
Matt comes to ACI-NA with 12 years’ experience in the commercial aviation industry, beginning with the Aviation Department of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey where he held various positions in Customer Service and Airport Operations. Matt worked in Airport Operations at Denver International Airport before joining Frontier Airlines, holding roles in their Finance and Commercial Strategy departments. Immediately prior to joining ACI-NA, Matt served as the Airline Affairs Manager with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Dr. Fariba Alamdari
VP Marketing and Value Analysis, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Dr. Fariba Alamdari leads a group of world-class marketing experts who conduct and shape industry-leading analysis of the commercial aviation market in support of Boeing Commercial Airplane global sales and product strategy.
Prior to joining Boeing, Professor Alamdari was the Head of Department of Air Transport, Cranfield University in England where she was a Professor of Air Transport Management. She was also the Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Science and Manufacturing.
Alamdari has chaired international conferences and has been the keynote speaker at many major international conferences. She is the recipient of Industry Professional Achievement Award from WoC in 2011, Professional Practice Recognition Award from the State University of New York Institute of Technology in 2010, and Sorenson Best Paper Award in 2000.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Peter Cerdá
Regional Vice President, America, IATA
Peter Cerdá is responsible for leading a multi-national team of professionals and proactively pursuing IATA’s industry priorities with governmental authorities in the Americas.
He was recently named Regional Vice- President for the Americas region and will act as IATA’s general manager for the region, managing and providing strategic direction, guidance and leadership for IATA’s activities and initiatives in the region in accordance with Board and Industry priorities.
Prior to this, he served as Regional Director, Safety, Operations and Infrastructure for the Americas and Atlantic since July 2006. He brings more than 22 years of airline industry experience to IATA with specific expertise in Latin America & Caribbean.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Peter was born in Spain and received his Master’s Degree in Aeronautics - Aviation Management from Embry Riddle University and a Bachelor of Business Administration at Florida International University.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Amit Rikhy
Vice President/Head of Acquisitions, ADC & HAS Airports Worldwide
As a key member of the executive management team, Mr. Rikhy leads the execution of the Company’s public private partnership (PPP), business development and acquisition efforts.
Prior to joining ADC & HAS, Mr. Rikhy was Vice President and Head of Business Development for Vantage Airport Group (“Vantage”). In this role, Mr. Rikhy oversaw all aspects of airport public-private partnerships, acquisition, development, financing, marketing and commercial management. Mr. Rikhy also led several of Vantage’s most significant transactions and served on the boards of its several of its portfolio airports.
During his 20-years of experience and leadership in corporate finance, strategy and business development globally, Mr. Rikhy has worked with major institutional investors, lenders, airlines and commercial partners and has been responsible for successfully managing and executing numerous transactions in the sector.
Participating Talks and Sessions
Albert Kluyver
CEO, InselAir