BBT rounds up all the latest business travel industry appointments.
Paul Roberts
Paul Roberts has been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) at BMI Regional. Roberts was previously CFO at Australian regional carrier Skywest Airlines, where he played a fundamental role in growing the airline until its eventual acquisition by Virgin Australia. Prior to joining Skywest in 2010, he spent 17 years in senior financial roles in both the UK and Australian aviation and tourism sectors.
Stefan Pichler
Stefan Pichler has been appointed as CEO of Airberlin. He will take up the role on February 1, taking over from Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, who resumes his previous position as Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at airberlin. Pichler was previously managing director and CEO at Fiji Airways. Before that his roles included chief executive of Jazeera Airways, and COO of Virgin Blue Airlines.
Lee Wakefield
Lee Wakefield has been appointed to the position of Senior Account Manager at HRS. Wakefield has more than 25 years of travel industry experience, in a variety of roles including revenue generation, new business development, relationship management, product promotion and client servicing roles. Prior to joining HRS, he spent 10 years at Virgin Atlantic as a Sales Manager, and also several years at Travelport.
Anna Jones
Diversity Travel has appointed Anna Jones as finance manager, to be based in the company’s Manchester city centre offices. The travel management company specialises in charity and academic sector travel management. Jones joins the firm from Network Rail, where she managed the accounts for 40,000 live infrastructure projects at any one time, and she has 11 years’ experience in finance.
Chris Walker
Chris Walker has been appointed as sales senior vice-president for the Americas at Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). Prior to joining LHW, Walker was vice-president of brand at Hyatt Hotels. Before that he worked for American Express Travel, managing the Fine Hotels & Resorts luxury hotel programme for Platinum Card members.
Tejas Shah
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has appointed Tejas Shah as director of development in Africa. Based in Nairobi, Shah will be responsible for driving Hyatt’s brand expansion efforts across the continent. Shah has worked for Hyatt for 12 years, most recently served as director of development in India.
Andy Christie (pictured)
Air Charter Service has promoted Andy Christie from president of its North American offices to global head of the Private Jet division, based in the company’s London headquarters. Christie has been with with ACS for more than 10 years. He started in the London office in 2004 before moving to New York in 2008, where he took up the role of department director for the office, before taking responsibility for all of ACS’s four North American operations.
Nick Varney
Nick Varney, Chief Executive Officer for Merlin Entertainments, has taken up the role of chairman of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) when incumbent Alan Parker CBE steps down on 1st January 2015. Varney has worked in the visitor attractions industry for 22 years, and led the management buyout from Vardon plc in 1999 to form Merlin Entertainments. He heads up the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign which campaigns for the UK to be more competitive in Europe with a lower tourism tax.
Fatima Beyina-Moussa
Fatima Beyina-Moussa has been named as president of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). She is the managing director of ECAir (Equatorial Congo Airlines). Previous roles include with Ernst & Young, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) and United Nations development programmes.
Scott Gibson
Technology provider Pegasus Solutions has appointed Scott Gibson as chief executive officer. Most recently, Gibson served as chief information officer at Best Western International. Prior to that, was senior vice-president and chief information officer for both Kerzner International Resorts and Cendant Corporation.
Jheison Chalarca
Jheison Chalarca has been appointed as national account manager at travel and meetings management agency Inntel. The 29-year-old has seven years’ industry experience in a variety of roles, most recently with meetings and workspace provider Regus.
Lupita Ontiveros
Mexican-owned hotel group Velas Resorts has appointed Lupita Ontiveros as UK sales manager. Lupita was previously director of marketing and PR for Europe at the Mexican Tourist Board. She joined the tourist board in 1986 and has held various senior roles there. The four Velas properties in Mexico report around 50% of group and MICE business.