Speakers
Ashwani is an expert with almost 30 years of work experience in diverse fields of aviation, ranging from aircraft manufacturing and maintenance to passenger service delivery. Pursuing PhD in Alternative Taxi-ing Solutions, he has successfully implemented TaxiBot operations at Delhi airport. Ashwani worked at Delhi International airport as a Vice President for almost a decade and his accomplishments include the commissioning of new terminals and re-commissioning of old terminals. Prior to this he worked in various capacities with Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Damania Airways, overseeing ground and flight operations. Before the airline industry proper, Ashwani spent time in aircraft manufacturing and maintenance functions. He has also been associated with IATA, being a steering committee member of IATA’s Aircraft Recovery Task Force. Ashwani is also a frequent speaker at both national and international forums.
Brendan has been working in the aviation industry for over 20 years as a writer, analyst and consultant. He served as chief analyst for the Centre for Aviation from 2011 to 2019, based in Singapore; and as an editor for Flightglobal, from 2000 to 2011, based in Washington DC, Singapore and London. Brendan is now working as an independent analyst and consultant, having established in 2019 the Singapore-based firm Sobie Aviation. Brendan has extensive experience covering emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific. He has written over 1,000 in depth analysis reports on emerging aviation markets, focusing on airline strategy and network development. Brendan gives frequent presentations, is an instructor on aviation courses and is often quoted by the international media. Recent television appearances include Bloomberg and CNBC. Brendan has a degree in Industrial and Labour Relations from Cornell University in New York.
Kam Weng Woo has been the Chief Executive Officer of Pos Aviation since February 2017. He started his career as a licensed aircraft engineer at Malaysia Airlines System in 1980 and moved to KL Airport Services in 1997 to set up the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Division. He headed the Engineering Division for seven years before being promoted to be the Head of Business Development, with responsibility for the development of all areas in KLAS, including ground handling, cargo handling, inflight catering and aircraft maintenance and engineering. He subsequently became Head of Commercial Support and held the position for five years before being appointed as CEO of Pos Aviation. His most recent achievement was the development and establishment of the first ever Digital Free Trade Zone outside of China, a Malaysian Government initiative.
Maurizio is Director of Safety & Quality Assurance at BFS, based in Bangkok. He is also member of the Bangkok Airport Operator's Committee ExCom, Co-founder & Chairman of TWIGA AERO and an Advisory Board Member of Further Network. Previously he was Head of Instructor-Led Learning in the IATA Training & Development Institute. Maurizio developed the ISAGO programme, IGOM and served as a subject matter expert on numerous IATA consulting projects in Risk Management, SMS, Operational Readiness Review, Tender and Licensing Agreements and Training Needs Analysis. Maurizio has also been responsible for the Airside Safety Group, the Ramp Services Equipment & Environment work group, the Load Control and Aircraft Movement work group and the Aviation Ground Services Agreement work group. He began his aviation career in 1981 with Air France, at JFK International and Anchorage airports.
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.
Sarabjot has spent 34 years in the airline industry and has a Master's in Business Administration in Marketing from Pune University. He is Executive Director Ground Handling and Regional Director Northern Region Air India, besides being a Board Member of AISATS. Formerly he was CEO Alliance Air Regional and responsible for the ground handling of Air India Flights worldwide. He is also involved in the procurement of ground handling services, cargo warehousing and security services throughout the network.
Thomas graduated from Munich University of Applied Sciences with a Master's in Engineering and Economics, following which he completed an MBA at Grenoble Business School. In 2015 he concluded his post-graduate studies at the University of Rostock, with a PhD in Engineering. Thomas' international experience started with a posting to Hong Kong in 1992, as a Sales Engineer for MAN Diesel. From there he went to India as Managing Director of MAN's local subsidiary before returning to Europe in 1998 to head up the Sales division responsible for the Middle East and Asia. In 2002, Thomas moved to China where he has now held several MD and CEO positions at international manufacturing plants. He joined TLD in March 2011 to lead the Chinese entities.
Thomas completed his MBA in the University of Denver in the US. Since the 1990s he has had an outstanding career in sales and marketing across different industries, including that of ground handling. He worked as Operations Manager at Hapag-Lloyd in Chicago from 1996 to 1998; was Team Leader at the World Trade Centre in Denver, Colorado from 1998 to 1999; and was Director of International Operations at GAKO International in Zurich from 1999 to 2006. From 2006 to 2008 Thomas was International Market Development Manager at CWS-BOCO International in Baar, Switzerland and held Directorship roles in key account management and business development functions at Hilti in Zurich. He has also been Vice President Global Key Account Management and Vice President Commercial Africa & Middle East at Swissport International. Currently, he serves as Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing in Celebi Aviation Holding.
Vivien oversees the commercial and business development strategies in her role as Executive Director of Hactl. She is also the Managing Director of Hacis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hactl, which provides integrated logistics support services. Vivien first joined parent company, the Jardine Matheson Group, as an Executive Trainee in 2000, and has held various managerial positions since then. She has worked in aviation-related business for over ten years, including ground handling services, air cargo and logistics.
Yacoob has been SATS’ Executive Vice President, Gateway Services since January 2014. Prior to this, he was its Executive Vice President, Food Solutions. He joined SATS in April 1981 and since then has assumed various positions including Senior Vice President, Cargo Services; Vice President, Apron Services; Vice President, Cargo Services; and Vice President, Inflight Catering Centre 2. He also held other managerial positions in apron and baggage, passenger services, marketing, and SIA Ground Services, where he was responsible for network procedures and ground handling contracts. During his terms in Food Solutions and Gateway Services, he spearheaded the Group’s entry into the sports catering, cruise terminal management, and inflight duty-free and duty-paid retail sales businesses. Yacoob sits on various boards of SATS’ subsidiaries and associate companies. He is the Chairman of SATS-Creuers Cruise Services and the Vice President Commissioner of PT Jasa Angkasa Semesta. He is also a member of Saudi Arabia’s private sector logistics advisory team. Yacoob graduated from the National University of Singapore with a BA, majoring in English.