IATA has appointed former Gulf Air chief commercial officer Willy Boulter as regional VP for Asia Pacific.
He will be in charge of member and government relations, and will oversee IATA's initiatives in the region, says the association.
Boulter has over 30 years of experience in the industry, including 20 years with Cathay Pacific Airways, it adds.
"Prior to Gulf Air, Boulter was chief executive of Sky Express, Russia's first low-cost carrier, and had held senior management appointments at Virgin Atlantic Airways and South African Airways," says IATA.
Boulter succeeds Mike Barclay, who left IATA in 2008. The position has been vacant since then because the association was unable to find a suitable candidate, says an IATA spokesman.
IATA director-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani says: "Last year, travel within Asia eclipsed North America as the world's largest market. Willy will lead IATA's support for this growing region across the full spectrum of industry issues."
Boulter says the Asia Pacific is the future of this industry.
"With the IATA Asia Pacific team, my priority is to deliver regional leadership on global industry challenges," he adds.
These include cost cutting, global safety standards and reducing carbon emissions, says Boulter.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
