Event Speakers

Adel Al Ali is well known for being at the forefront of the development of modern aviation. His innovative achievements and contribution to air transport and tourism sector in the wider Arab world are globally recognised. He managed to transform Arab aviation in October 2003 when he set up Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first low-cost carrier (LCC), opening up a market niche in the region whose existence few had suspected.

The pioneering aviator drove Air Arabia’s growth in the next decade into the largest low cost carrier in the MENA region, as well as the first publicly owned airline in the Arab World and it’s largest by market value. Drawing on his multiple years of experience with industry leaders such as Gulf Air and British Airways, Adel has also been able to guide Air Arabia to become amongst the world’s best run Low Cost Carriers, delivering a profit for every year in succession.

Under the leadership of Adel, Air Arabia’s business model has gone from strength-to-strength, enabling it to expand operations, enter new ventures and diversify into new revenue streams. Today, the Group holds a portfolio of successful businesses and projects, offering travel, tourism and hospitality services across the globe.

In addition to being the Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, Adel is also the chairman of Sharjah Information Systems Associates, Alpha Aviation Academy and Cozmo Travel and he is a board member of Sharjah Aviation Services.

Adel has been awarded ‘Airline CEO of the year’ by various industry forums. He recently received the prestigious 2020 Laureate Award for extraordinary achievement in airline strategy. Earlier he won the “Airline Business Award” at the esteemed Airline Strategy Awards and he was also named ‘World’s best Low Cost Carrier CEO’ during the World LCC Congress. Adel has also entered the “Hall of Fame Award” in honoring his contribution to the Middle East Aviation.

Bernie Baldwin has been in aviation publishing since he joined the Royal Aeronautical Society in January 1988 as production editor of The Aeronautical Journal. In October 1993, he became head of the Society’s publications department and editor of Aerospace, later Aerospace International.

In June 1998, Bernie became editor of Airlines International, published by Insight Media on behalf of IATA. At Insight Media, he was also associate editor of ACI’s Airport World.

Bernie moved in May 2000 to become editor of Regional Airline World. In 2007, he led the magazine’s change to become Low-Fare & Regional Airlines. In 2016, Bernie was instrumental in the latest brand change of the magazine to LARA.

Bernie left LARA in February 2017 to pursue a career as a freelance writer and editor.

In October 2015, Bernie received the ERA Award for Personal Excellence from the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) for "Outstanding contribution to intra-European air transport". He has also won three Aerospace Journalist of the Year awards (2000, 2003 and 2007) in the Best Regional Aviation Submission category.

A French/Danish national, Karin Butot worked for both French and Belgian media before joining the aviation industry more than 25 years ago. During this time, Karin established CONNECT Route Development Forum, a premium aviation event which has grown every year and is now in its 19th year. The last event took place in Antalya, and attracted over 650 delegates. Karin is based in Lyon, France, from where she runs The Airport Agency and CONNECT.

Namory Camara, current General Director of (SOGEAC) Ahmed Sekou Toure International Airport, has nearly 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  He was the former General Director of Private Investment Promotion Agency (APIP-Guinea).

Namory Camara, who holds a degree in Management Sciences and International Business Law from the University of Dakar, joined the DDI Audit Unit in 2001, directly attached to the office of the Minister of Economy and Finance.

After this experience in the public service, he oriented his career in the aeronautical industry by working for the multinational OAG, a world leader in aeronautical information and analysis.

For more than 16 years, he climbed the ladder to occupy the strategic position of Director of International Sales - Europe - Africa - Middle East.

Known for his versatility, leadership and knowledge of the business environment, Namory has also written several articles on economic development issues in Guinea and Africa and has lectured extensively around the world.

Mr. CAMARA has a vast knowledge of the aviation business environment as a former director in charge of the Middle East, he has sealed several contracts to name a few.

After capitalizing on experiences through other professional trainings abroad, the desire to serve his native country pushed him to return home. Where he used his years of experience in aeronautics and aviation to implement new changes at the Ahmed Sekou Touré International Airport.

As Head of Marketing at Heart Aerospace, Claudio is responsible for aircraft product strategy, market analysis and forecast, technical sales support, market intelligence and promotional strategy.

Claudio brings extensive experience in the aviation industry, both from the aircraft manufacturer and operator side. Before joining Heart Aerospace, Claudio was Director of Strategy for Amaro Aviation, a startup fractional ownership business jet operator. Prior to that he worked for over 20 years at Embraer, where he held various leadership positions in the company’s Executive Jets and Commercial Aviation divisions, taking responsibilities in Sales, Market and Product Strategies, Sales Engineering and Flight Operations Support.

Earlier in his career, Claudio worked for eight years in the airline industry, for VASP and Varig airlines, on flight operations and performance engineering, airport and navigation fees and aviation fuel management.

Claudio has a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Brazil's ITA - Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica and a MBA in Corporate Management from Fundação Getúlio Vargas university in São Paulo, Brazil.

Askin Demir born in 1968 in Istanbul (Turkey), has been passionate about aeronautics since a very young age. After his baccalaureate at Galatasaray High School, he joined Istanbul Technical University. It was in this country that he began his career as an airport agent, where he held various aeronautical-oriented positions.
His rigor and professionalism have raised him to various professional stations at the international level.
To date, Askin Demir has to its credit the establishment of eight airport operations in five countries across three continents, Africa, Europe, Asia.
In 2018, he took over the General Management of 2AS (AIBD - Assistance - Services), a ground handling company.
Askin Demir has become from 2021 to the present day the Managing Director of LAS (Limak- AIBD - Summa), the managing company of Blaise International Diagne airport in Dakar, a flagship of aeronautics at regional and sub-regional level. An international class airport holding several certificates.
Askin Demir is a fan of aeronautics, his interest in this field is well established.
He is one of the safe bets in this sector, given the positions and missions he has held so brilliantly to date.

Patrick is the founder and Managing Director of Altair Advisory, a specialist aviation strategy advisory and consulting firm focusing on airline network strategy and aviation sustainability. Patrick has over 20 years of aviation-industry experience across senior commercial roles in the airline, airport and aircraft leasing sectors, as well as a background in strategy consultancy: Patrick studied Computer Engineering at Trinity College Dublin and Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, and also holds a MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University in the UK and a MBA from Purdue University in the USA.

Hatim El Gharbi joined ONMT in 2003 as a product manager. He has since held various positions including those of country director in Germany, Benelux and France but also that of Chief of Operations in Rabat.

As Commercial and Sales Director, he oversees the activities of the various ONMT offices around the world and manages relations with ONMT's main international commercial partners, whether they are airlines or travel distributors.

Hatim El GHARBI is Born and raised in Rabat. He graduated with a master's degree in Business and International Affairs from the University of Montpellier.

Magdalena has over 15 years’ experience working in environmental sustainability. She worked in a variety of industries, including UK’s National Health Service, before moving into aviation sustainability in 2014. Her areas of expertise include environmental management systems, energy procurement and management, carbon footprinting and carbon reduction, sustainable travel and waste management.

Since joining the aviation industry, she worked for both airlines and airports expanding her experience to areas of fuel efficiency, sustainable aviation fuels, community engagement and charitable programmes. Magdalena is a subject matter expert for waste management in aviation.

She was also project managing Airport Carbon Accreditation programme on behalf of ACI-Europe where she led a project team of 12 people located across 3 continents.

At easyJet, she is responsible for minimising environmental impact across all airline operations, including tackling waste and plastic reduction, sustainability in procurement, airports’ sustainability partnerships and maintenance of externally verified environmental management system.

Jean-François GUITARD has been Director of the General Aviation & Business Development Business Unit of “Société des Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur” since October 2021.  He has been following the development of these training, auditing and management contract or concession activities since 2008. In this capacity, he has had the opportunity to work in various countries on very different airport issues. In addition, for general aviation activities, he supervises the Cannes-Mandelieu and Gulf of Saint-Tropez airports, the role of managing director of Sky Valet Spain and Portugal, a business aircraft handling companies and the development of the Sky Valet Connect license.

Within Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur, he has since 1991 assumed multiple activities in the field of marketing, general administration, responsibility for the management of the company's governance bodies, institutional representation activities and supervision of the Sustainable Development Department.

Jean-François GUITARD holds a PhD in transportation law and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris.

David Gunnarsson is the CEO of Dohop. David has extensive experience in the online travel industry, where he has progressed through different roles. During David’s time at Dohop, the company has evolved from building online solutions for travellers into a tech provider for the airline industry, catering to several airlines around the globe and redefining the concept of travel connectivity in a digital world. David’s experience before Dohop includes different roles in the financial sector, where he has worked for Iceland’s biggest bank in equity sales, trading and investor relations. 

Ray, having formerly served as the Ryanair Group Head of Tax, now leads its Route Development Department which is responsible for securing and maintaining low-cost airport deals across the network.

Now charged with the enviable task of allocating 210 Boeing 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft and flying 225 million passengers per year across a fleet of over 620 aircraft by 2026, Ray and his team are looking forward to meeting like-minded, low-cost and growth-hungry airports.

Prior to joining Ryanair in 2016, Ray worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and holds a Master of Science in Accounting, as well as dual qualifications as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor.

Majid Khan, Vice President Aviation Development, Istanbul Airport

Mr. Majid Khan is Vice President Aviation Development of Istanbul Airport (IST). He is 43 years old and from Denmark. He is educated Engineer in Business Administration, M.Sc, from Technical University of Denmark. Furthermore, he holds a degree in Executive Leadership from Cranfield School of Management in United Kingdom.  He has been part of aviation industry for almost 12 years by playing a central role in developing hubs around Europe. Majid Khan joined aviation industry in 2011 at Copenhagen Airport where he was part of Aviation Development team to develop Northern Europe`s largest Hub. From 2016 – 2020 he worked as Senior Director traffic development at Avinor, Norway’s 45 airports, where he was responsible for leading the team to develop Oslo Airport as a leading Hub in the region and Gateway to Norway and develop connectivity from regional airports in Norway to Europe. Majid Khan has won several industry awards in 2013,2014,2015 & 2018 together with Copenhagen Airports & Avinor Airports.  At Istanbul Airport (IST),  Majid Khan is overall responsible for aviation development and has lead the fastest recovery at IST, which is now Europe`s largest airport. To highlight some  of his key responsibilities are route development, strategy development and implementation, product development, internationalization process, tourism development, sales and marketing etc. Majid Khan is reporting to CEO of Istanbul Airport, Mr Kadri Samsunlu.

Annabelle Lepièce is a partner of the Competition and European law department of CMS Belgium. Annabelle advises airports, airlines and groundhandlers on all aspects of European law (antitrust, State aid, European directives and regulations) relating to the air transport sector.

She has been representing French, Belgian, Dutch, Romanian and Spanish airports and public authorities implicated in investigations led by the European Commission on alleged aids to airlines and airports. She also assists public authorities, airports and airlines in the notification of State aids for the infrastructure, start-up aids, etc. and advises them on strategies and legal options to develop new routes. Recently, she has advised ACI and the UAF (the French Airports’ association) on the revision of the European Commission’s 2014 Aviation Guidelines and on the legal framework applying to State aid in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. In the context of the pandemic, she worked for various actors of the sector on identifying available public funding and setting up aid schemes for the relaunch of routes. She is also specialized in aid for the energy and the protection of the environment.

Jason McGuinness was appointed Ryanair’s Director of Commercial in June 2020, having previously served as Director of Revenue Management & Pricing and Director of Network Planning. Jason joined Ryanair in 2007 and from there progressed through various Commercial roles. Prior to joining Ryanair he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Johannes Mohrmann joined the Aviation Marketing Team at Berlin Airports in 2013 and already had kerosene in his blood at that time. In 2015, he became Senior Manager Key Account and Business Development. Since then, Johannes Mohrmann has been responsible for looking after numerous long-haul and short-haul airlines flying to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, as well as for business development in Asia and Europe. In addition, he has been intensively involved with the topics of virtual interlining and virtual intermodality in recent years. Johannes was responsible for various projects in this area and co-led the project to introduce the "VIA BER" self-boarding initiative at BER.

Sanja is COO and leads operational activities for ch-aviation with focus on data research and development. After her career with an airline, where she managed a commercial team, Sanja joined the management team for one of the largest and most valuable brands in aviation intelligence – ch-aviation. Sanja is focused on making ch-aviation the most desired data tool in the airlines' industry and industry suppliers from the aircraft finance, MRO, IT and airports. Sanja (37) is married with one child.

Tom’s role at Birmingham Airport is to manage the aeronautical budget of the airport and manage all existing and future airline relations. Tom joined Birmingham Airport in February 2013 and has performed a number of Business Development roles before taking over his current role in March 2018.

Prior to joining Birmingham Airport, Tom ran the network and schedules planning functions at Thomson Airways (the largest Charter airline in Europe).  Tom started his career in the Operations team of First Choice Airways (air2000) before moving to work as a Slot Coordinator at Airport Coordination Ltd.

Tom is originally from Oxford but spent his formative years in Manchester and London before moving to Midlands.  Tom is married with two boys and lives in Leamington Spa.

Director John Strickland is a graduate of the University of York and has almost 40 years of experience in the airline industry, specialising in network planning and revenue management.  He has held senior positions with a number of airlines including British Caledonian, British Airways, KLM uk and Buzz. His experience spans all the major airline business models.

London-based JLS Consulting was established in 2003, an air transport consultancy providing strategic insight and advisory services for clients including airports, airlines and investors.

John provides expert independent business and financial commentary on the sector for leading global media including the BBC, Sky, Bloomberg and CNN. He is a regular conference chair and moderator at industry events, frequently interviewing leading senior executives.

Hector Ureta graduated in Aerospace Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and obtained the highest grade of Airports Specialization in 2011.

Since 2018, he has been working at the Ibiza Airport Directorate (Gabinete de Dirección) - Aena www.aena.es in direct support of the airport director and deals with a wide variety of strategic topics: investments, quality, airport sustainability, agreements with external entities, overview of the airport KPIs.

At the same time, he is in academic collaboration and is a professor of airport related topics at ITAEREA Aeronautical Business School (www.itaerea.es) and at IES Abroad /Universidad Carlos III Madrid.

Until 2018, Hector Ureta was an innovation consultant to airports and airlines in Europe and Middle East in the European framework R&D programmes: FP7, H2020, Single European Sky.

He has also written numerous academic papers, deliverables and book chapters (modest H index) https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=83UQK1MAAAAJ&hl=es and was an independent advisory board member of 4 European airport-related R&D projects as well as an expert/evaluator for the European Commission in the framework of R&D calls for proposals (Horizon Europe, SESAR).

Manuel has got 8 years of experience in the airline industry across multiple teams (Digital, Ancillaries, Pricing and Network) and currently leads easyJet’s European Network and Airport Development team, being responsible for easyJet’s capacity allocation across its European bases.

easyJet’s team is looking forward to discussing last-minute route opportunities for S23 and W23 and long-term opportunities from S24 onwards.