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De Juniac takes over as IATA director-general and CEO
September 2nd 2016
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Alexandre de Juniac has officially taken on the role of director general and CEO of the organization from September 1, succeeding Tony Tyler. Read More »
De Juniac, 53, joins IATA from Air France-KLM where he was chairman and CEO of Air France and then chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM. From 1995 to 2009, de Juniac held various senior leadership positions in French aerospace and defence company Thales. In his last position at Thales, he was responsible for the firm’s operations and sales in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. He is also a seasoned politician, having served in various cabinets.
“I am excited to be taking on this great responsibility. IATA plays a critical role in facilitating safe, efficient and sustainable global air transport. Tony Tyler has raised the bar through his achievements over the last five years. With the guidance of our Board and the support of our membership, my aim is to ensure that IATA continues to deliver the value that our members and partners rely upon,” said de Juniac.
De Juniac was confirmed by the 72nd IATA Annual General Meeting this past June to be the seventh person to lead IATA. He brings diverse experience to the association, including leadership roles in the airline and aerospace sectors as well as in government.
A native of Neuilly-sur-Seine, a Parisian suburb, one of de Juniac’s many tasks will be to forge greater industry unity and to lead the full implementation of the NDC (New Distribution Capability) program designed for the development and market adoption of a new, XML-based data transmission standard (NDC Standard). This is expected to significantly improve the capability of communications between airlines, travel agents, GDSs, IT providers and travel start-ups. Another priority will be safety and security, with the disappearance of MH370, the downings of MH17 and 7K9268, the Russian airliner over Egypt, and the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris and Istanbul still very raw in the industry’s mind.
In the coming weeks, de Juniac will have to lobby IATA member carriers to agree to a mandatory global carbon offset scheme as the industry’s preferred marked-based measure at the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s triennial two-week conference.
