New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Travel Corporation India
Thomas Cook India has appointed Dipak Deva as managing director of Travel Corporation India (TCI). In his new role, Deva will be responsible for overall business strategy and delivery at TCI. Deva possesses an experience of over 26 years in the inbound travel business.
Jet Airways
Jet Airways has appointed Rahul Taneja as chief people officer. In this role, Taneja will be responsible for shaping the operations and performance of the group. He will join the executive management committee that has been tasked by the board of directors of Jet Airways to drive the company’s growth and future strategy. Taneja will be based at Jet Airways’ corporate headquarters in Mumbai and will report to the CEO. He previously headed corporate human resources at Essar Group. His earlier roles include HR director at Dell International and group HR head at HFCL.
PATA India Chapter
The executive committee for the term 2015-17 for PATA India Chapter was unanimously elected at its 45th annual general meeting. The following executive committee members were elected as office bearers for a two-year term: Vinod Zutshi, secretary, ministry of tourism, Government of India, was elected as chairman; SanJeet, director, Durga Das Publications, was elected as vice chairman; Jatinder Taneja, managing director, Travel Spirit International, was elected as secretary; and Vikram Madhok, managing director, Abercrombie and Kent India, was elected as treasurer.
Tourism Authority of Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has appointed Indian female golfer Vani Kapoor as Thailand golf ambassador in India. Kapoor has represented India in many domestic and international golf tournaments. She turned professional golfer in 2012 and her current world ranking is 767. She got the Order of Merit Winner & Player of the Year by Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) in 2014, making her number one in the WGAI ranking. She has won 17 titles till now which is the most by any female golf player on Indian tour.
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines has appointed David Lim as general manager for India. He will be taking over from his predecessor David Lau effective from April 3, 2016. In his new role, Lim will be overseeing all India operations of Singapore Airlines. Whereas, David Lau, the outgoing general manager for India, will move to Tokyo as general manager for Japan. Lim began his career at Singapore Airlines in 1988 after graduating from the National University of Singapore. With over 27 years of experience with the company, he has worked in various capacities within passenger and cargo service operations. His overseas assignments are spanned across Berlin, London, Copenhagen, Zurich, Hong Kong and most recently Tokyo.
Honeywell Aerospace
Steven Lien has been appointed as president of Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific. Lien succeeds Briand Greer, who will be staying in the Asia Pacific region, assuming a new leadership position within Honeywell. In his new role, Lien will oversee operations in six countries and extensive field operations across a network of 14 countries within the region. Lien will be based in Shanghai and report to Tim Mahoney, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace. Lien’s previous role was vice president, Asia Pacific. Prior to that, Lien was vice president, Defense and Space International. Lien joined Honeywell in 2003 and has served in numerous roles in business and marketing throughout his tenure with the company. Lien also held positions at Pratt & Whitney, McKinsey and Company, and Kaiser Associates, serving clients in a range of industries with a focus on aerospace, defense and transportation.
AAE Travel
Jonathon Sinclair Neal has been appointed as chief executive officer of AAE Travel, a joint venture between AirAsia and Expedia Inc. In this role, Neal will be based out of Singapore and provide strategic directions to the Singapore-based online travel company that drives two key brands, Expedia and AirAsiaGo across 12 countries including India, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. Prior to assuming this role, Neal was the chief financial officer of AAE Travel. He will be responsible for managing profit and loss and business strategy in the Asia Pacific, aiming to capture the top slot for the brand. Neal joined Expedia in 2003 in London where he supported Expedia’s early European businesses.
Engadin St Moritz Tourism Organisation
Engadin St Moritz Tourism Organisation has appointed Massimo Boni as head of sales, replacing Miriam Bruder. In his new role, Boni will be responsible for managing 17 markets. Originally based in the Italian part of Switzerland, Boni has covered several positions in the tourism and travel industry, most recently in Etihad Airways in Lugano.
Boeing
Boeing’s board of directors has elected Dennis A Muilenburg as chairman, effective from March 1, 2016. Muilenburg succeeds W James McNerney Jr. Prior to this, Muilenburg was Boeing’s president and chief operating officer. He also served as president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. His experience includes numerous assignments in engineering and programme management across the company. Muilenburg joined the company in 1985 as an engineering intern in Seattle.
Mobile Travel Technologies
David Moran has been appointed as chief executive officer of Mobile Travel Technologies (MTT). Based in MTT’s Dublin headquarters, Moran will join the company on March 1, 2016. In his new role, Moran will report to Bryan Conway. Moran has held executive positions in North America with companies including Morgan Stanley, Software AG, Prism Solutions, Ardent Software and Insight Venture Partners. He was also the CEO of MediaBin, and executive-in-residence at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he assisted over 30 start-up companies with strategic planning, market analysis, and raising of initial funding.
Bombardier Business Aircraft
Bombardier Business Aircraft has appointed Chris Milligan as vice president, services sales and authorised service facilities (ASFs). In his new position, Milligan will be responsible for sales for service centres, parts services, component repair and overhaul (CR&O) and smart services, as well as sales support and service planning. Milligan will be based in Dallas, Texas. Most recently within the service centre network, Milligan was director, ASFs, mobile response and services growth. He began his career with Bombardier in 1996 within its then fractional jet ownership division, and has since held diverse positions.