Speakers | Air Cargo

Ramesh Mamidala

Chief Cargo Development Officer (CCDO-Airports), Adani Group

Ramesh Mamidala is currently working with Adani Group as Chief Cargo Development Officer (CCDO-Airports) based at Ahmedabad.

Ramesh started his career with GATI in 1991 and went on working with many renowned organizations including Eicher Consultancy Services Limited, Emirates Airlines Group-Dubai & Mercator and Qatar Aviation Services (QAS) Cargo.

Ramesh Mamidala was associated with Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management Ltd. – IGI Airport as Chief Executive Officer at Delhi. At IGI Airport he was responsible for overall terminal operations-International, domestic, RFS AFS (Air Freight Stations) and Express. Commercial development & implementation, Revenue diversification, IT Systems improvement & implementation, Product design & development, Internal & External supplier and regulatory authorities management.

Ramesh Mamidala holds a ‘B.Engg’. from Osmania Uninversity, Hyderabad, Master of Planning (Transportation) from School of Planning-New Delhi and MBA from Bradford University School of Management, UK. He brings with him more than 26 years of experience in the field of Logistics Business Management, Logistics Commercial Product Management, Airfreight Global and Hub Operations, Logistics Infrastructure Development and IT skills with strong Project Management (PMP) competencies.

Asaad Joubran

Business Development Lead India, Zipline

Asaad Joubran, Business development lead for Zipline International in India and MENA. Zipline is a Silicon Valley start-up that designs, manufactures and operates autonomous drones for the delivery of medical supplies to health facilities. Prior to Zipline, Asaad was an executive in a number of regional power and energy companies. Asaad is an EMBA graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Varun Kulshreshtha

Chief Operating Officer, Shipa Freight

Varun Kulshreshtha is the global COO for Shipa Freight which is a digital freight forwarder powered by Agility created to help SME’s tap into the global economy.

Varun has 17 years of experience in the International Logistics and Supply Chain industry in different roles at Agility, Damco and Maersk. In his previous roles Varun has led business critical global transformation efforts, been responsible for global customer service delivery as well as process and network optimization based out of Netherlands, US, UAE, Denmark and India.

Arun Chandra

General Manager, Aviation Business, Bangalore International Airport

Arun Chandra comes with over two decades of aviation experience in India and abroad in various capacities. He was the Station Manager for Lufthansa German Airlines in India and later in Malaysia and Indonesia. Later, he took over the responsibility of heading Market Development for Lufthansa Group in South Asia. Mr. Chandra has also represented the interests of the airline community in his capacity as Chairman of the Airline Operators Committee , Bangalore from 2008 – 2014. Currently Mr Chandra is leading the Aviation Business vertical at Bangalore International Airport.

Vijay Sharma

Head-Cargo, Delhi International Airport

Vijay Sharma is currently serving as Head-Cargo of DIAL since January 2019. He is an accomplished professional possessing diverse rich industry experience of over 24 years.

In his current role, he is responsible for successfully driving the Cargo Strategy, development and execution of the Cargo Master plan at Delhi Airport while achieving sustained growth and making IGIA as the no.1 Cargo hub Airport in the country.

Earlier to this role, Mr Vijay was heading the Business Integration vertical at DIAL and also worked with Cargo Division as Head – Product Development responsible for developing the Air Cargo Logistics center among other crucial products. He has also served Strategy division of DIAL working on various strategic projects. Prior to joining GMR in 2008, he served Engineers India Limited working on multiple prestigious projects of country’s interest.

He possesses Engineering degree from BITS Pilani and MBA from FMS, Delhi.

Venugopal Bangera

Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai Cargo Service Center (MCSC)

Venugopal Bangera is the Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai Cargo Service CenterAirport , a joint venture of Cargo CSC and SATS.

A prodigious 70,000 m² greenfield air cargo terminal at Delhi Airport, which is India’s tallest two-tier integrated mega cargo facility, having annual capacity to handle1.25 million MT of cargo.
A state- of- the- art perishable cargo terminal at Mumbai Airport.

He has been associated with Cargo Service Center (CSC) Group since its inception and have acquired rich experience in the field of airport handling, warehouse and operations management, logistics, cool-chain management and special cargo, dangerous goods, perishables and pharmaceuticals.

He was associated for six years with Blue Dart Express and UPS-Elbee Express, two of the largest express companies in the country.

Venu’s core competencies are strategic thinking, business development, operations management, project planning and execution, cargo terminal design and planning , and air cargo IT systems.

Mark Sutch

Regional General Manager - South Asia, Middle East and Africa Cathay Pacific Airways

Mark Sutch was appointed Regional General Manager – South Asia, Middle East and Africa in August 2017. In his current role, he is responsible for overseeing all business and operations of Cathay Pacific Airways and Cathay Dragon in the three regions.

Prior to this, as General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing for Cathay Pacific, Mark was responsible for commercial aspects of their global cargo business. Cargo revenue management, customer solutions, partnerships and all marketing and sales activities fell under his area of responsibility.

Previous roles held with Cathay Pacific include the positions of Manager Revenue Management for Europe, South West Pacific, South Asia, Middle East, Japan and Korea. Mark was also the Country Manager in France, The Philippines and Sri Lanka and held an operational role within the Flight Operations Department.

Mark joined John Swire and Sons in July 1997 and has spent most of his career seconded to Cathay Pacific Airways.

Ravindra

Deputy General Manager and Regional Head, Mumbai, APEDA

RAVINDRA has a Masters Degree in Agriculture from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and an MBA from Central College Bangalore University.

He has been working with Agricultural & Processed food products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for the past 28 years in various capacities. At present, he is holding the post of Deputy General Manager and Regional Head and is heading the Regional Office of Mumbai covering the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Chhattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh.

He has represented APEDA at various national and international exhibitions. He is on the Board of several organizations related to exports.

He is the Team Leader of the Evaluation Committee of NAB and has conducted several audits of the organic certification bodies.

Peter Penseel

Senior Vice President Cargo Sales and Network Planning, Qatar Airways Cargo

Peter Penseel, born in Leiden, Netherlands, has been working in the air cargo industry for over 20 years. Having spent much of his time working overseas, he has gained invaluable knowledge in both freight forwarding and airlines. Peter spearheads the commercial strategy and network planning in Qatar Airways Cargo; since 2016 he has played a pivotal role in building the world’s number one cargo airline.

Adrien Thominet

Chief Executive Officer, ECS Group

Adrien started his career in New York as Commercial Director at FICOFI, a luxury brand promoting Bordeaux 'grands crus' fine wines globally. Adrien then worked for UniFrance Film in Tokyo where he managed the Yokohama Film Festival.

In 1995, Adrien joined ECS Group as Commercial Manager of the company's Aero Cargo business unit, where he subsequently became Managing Director. In 2009, Adrien accepted the challenge of leading the commercial development of the Group, before his appointment in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer.

In 2017 ECS Group nominated Adrien as Chief Executive Officer to fully align with the transformative needs of their partners and clients and support them to navigate the shift to compete in the digital economy.

Since then, Adrien has led the group to develop its service offering, in particular its Total Cargo Management offering, enabling airlines to delegate all of their freight activities to the group, from A to Z. His drive to invest in digital technology and make the group a leader in this area has also helped to make this service offering possible thanks to cutting-edge tools that maximize performance.

Graham Perkins

Vice President Sales and Marketing, Europe / Middle East / India / Africa (EMEIA), Atlas Air

Graham Perkins has been the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Europe/Middle East/India/Africa (EMEIA) for Atlas Air, Inc. for over 5 years. He is responsible for leading the Commercial team as well as all Atlas activities in the EMEIA region, including Sales and Marketing, Customer Relationships, Operational Performance and Business Administration/Compliance. Previously, he held the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Asia-Pacific with Atlas Air for over 13 years.

Before joining Atlas in 2002, Mr. Perkins spent 15 years with Air Canada and Canadian Airlines (the two airlines merged in 2000), where he was the Asia-Pacific Regional Director and also served as General Manager in China and the Philippines, in addition to holding various head-office roles prior to moving to Asia.

Sanjiv Edward

Chief Commercial Officer, Delhi International Airport

Sanjiv Edward has taken over as Chief Commercial Officer – Aero of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) from January 2018, wherein he will be leading the aeronautical and aero-related business verticals of IGI Airport. In his new role, he will be responsible for developing and driving the strategy for these verticals by achieving sustained growth of aeronautical revenues through various streams, such as cargo, land & space, concessions and aeronautical services. His profile also includes leading the airlines marketing and route development activities to enhance IGI Airports’ air connectivity network. Further, he will also be guiding the revenue management function for aeronautical activities.

Earlier to this role, Sanjiv was heading the cargo business of DIAL, where he was responsible for driving the cargo strategy and development of the cargo master plan. He has been actively engaged with government, regulators and industry for policy formulation at various levels.

Sanjiv was also the Chairman of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Miami from May, 2015 to October, 2017. TIACA is a global body working towards efficiency in the air freight supply chain, working closely with WCO, ICAO, WTO, TSA, UNCTAD.

Prior to joining DIAL, Sanjiv has worked with British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) for over a decade and has rich aviation experience with an in-depth understanding of cross cultural working and aviation related requirements of the different segments of the air cargo industry.

He is an accomplished individual with domestic and international experience of over 20 years in aviation industry & has won several personal and corporate awards.

Siddharth Kundu

Director of Sales- South Asia and Oceania at Astrophysics

Siddharth Kundu, has been handling security project sales based out of different regions in Asia. Has been in the industry since 2013 and has extensive project sales and execution experience specially catering to Asian business requirement in these few years.

He has worked with various ports, airports, and critical infrastructure projects in Asia to provide them with solutions which is needed by them to create and upgrade their security infrastructure and provide them with integrated and customized solutions.

Sidharth has been involved in the first project to supply the dual view cargo machines in India working with various stakeholders to upgrade from single view scanning to dual view x- ray scanning in 2013. Secondly, he has been involved in project for upgrading Bureau of customs, Philippines security infrastructure for their country to fight against the illegal drugs. He has supplied more than 50 dual view x-ray scanner and 06 container connecting all their x-ray machines together in same platform for different stakeholders to work together.Thirdly, he has been involved in planning to execute Delhi Metro rail X-ray screening project which screens more than 2 million passengers on daily basis.

Manoj Singh

Senior Vice President & Head - Cargo ,Mumbai International Airport (MIAL)

Manoj Singh is Senior Vice President & Head – Cargo (Mumbai International Airport Ltd- MIAL). He is associated with MIAL more than 08 years.

He is responsible for Overall Cargo Operation, P & L of Cargo department, Business Development and Cargo Master Plan.

Manoj has rich experience of more than 28 years in Aviation on pan India basis. He has expertise in cargo & ground Handling management, commercial & business Development, profit center & revenue management, project management, new technologies, marketing strategies, networking, customer relations, safety standards, ramp handling functions, perspective planning, airline functions, airline contracts, and logistic related issues.

Prior to joining MIAL, he was working with the Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore as Chief Executive Officer responsible for P&L of the Company. Within Menzies Aviation he had played a vital role of Commercial Manager (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh &Srilanka) and as General Manager-Cargo for its start up greenfield project in India namely Bangalore and Hyderabad, taking responsibility of project development, operations, commercial, safety & security, IT & business development. He also worked with Lufthansa Cargo and Airports Authority of India.

Manoj has Diploma in “Airport Executive Leadership Program” from ACI through “Concordia University, Montreal” and completed his MBA in marketing from “Chetna Institute of Management – University of Mumbai”, MCOM Business Management from University of Mumbai, Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing & Sales Management (Gold Medalist) from “BharatiyaVidyaBhavan, Mumbai”.

He has been recently appointed as Co-chairman- Shipping & Air Logistics committee by Indian Merchant Chamber in the year 2017- 2018. He was awarded for his outstanding achievement in Air Cargo Industry by many international trade bodies and various air cargo stakeholders. He has been instrumental in implementing the India’s first “Air Cargo Community Digital Platform – GMAX” at Mumbai airport. He has led Mumbai airport cargo to become one of the leading e-freight compliant station and the first cargo airport in India to achieve IATA CEIV Pharma accreditation along with becoming strategic member of Pharma.Aero.

Pete Chareonwongsak

Chief Executive Officer, Teleport

Pete Chareonwongsak is CEO of Teleport where he spearheads the transformation of AirAsia’s cargo and logistics arm from a legacy business into a digital venture.

From 2012 to 2016, Pete was AirAsia Group Head of Business Development, based in Jakarta and later in Kuala Lumpur. During that time, he worked to set up airlines in India with Tata Group and in Japan with Rakuten Inc, as well as joint ventures in Training, Ground Handling, and Leasing. He also handled M&A transactions covering Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and India.

In August 2016, he was tapped to be AirAsia Regional Chief Operating Officer, where he led the successful turnaround of AirAsia Philippines.

Prior to AirAsia, Pete worked as an Investment Banking Analyst with CIMB, and as the official advisor to the Thailand Trade Representative office, where he was tasked with promoting inbound and outbound international trade and investment, with specialist focus on cross-border Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through M&A, joint ventures and project finance.

He is a board member of AirAsia India and EasyParcel, a regional e-commerce and parcel delivery player.

Pukhraj Singh Chug

Chairman & Managing Director,Group Concorde

Pukhraj Singh Chug is a true leader and visionary. With a vast experience of over 35 years, he is a veteran in the field of Aviation, Logistics & Freight focused organization. He has been nurturing Group Concorde since its inception. As a first generation entrepreneur, it was his concrete visions which led to the inception of this enormous organization. The credit of successfully introducing and establishing an expert airlines representation business with GSA as its core goes to him. He has led Group Concorde from a forwarding industry expert to a GSA specialist.

As a head of the Group, which is home to more than 430 people, he has been handing multi country operations spanning from India through practically all over Asia-Pacific helping the group today who represents more than 25 airline groups with almost 40 GSA contracts. He has regularly participated in key international forums charting the course of the future of aviation with the industry leaders.

He is also a trustee member of TIACA. Chug has been honoured with the ‘Most Promising Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2009 by the coveted Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards.

In his able leadership the organization has seen continued growth and has been recognized all across the globe. With the devoted support of the people of this organization, he has been able to take Group Concorde to new heights. It is the dedicated approach of a hardworking team under his leadership that has materialized the journey of success for the organization.

Jalpa H Vithalani

Founder & Director, Global Agritech , Director, JTB Jupiter Express Services

Jalpa H Vithalani is the Director of JTB Jupiter Express Services Pvt. Ltd. JTB Jupiter Express Services Pvt. Ltd. is a market leader in international courier consolidation and air freight forwarding. It is a joint venture with Jupiter Global Ltd. which is a Hong Kong-based Japan Airlines subsidiary. JTB Jupiter has a cohesive PAN-India presence with a well-experienced knowledgeable team with excellent local expertise & total logistics solutions.

Jalpa H Vithalani is also the Founder & Director, Global Agritech (I) Pvt. Ltd., which is one of the pioneers in rose cultivation in India. She is the Vice President of Western India Floriculture Association. Global Agritech represents one of the world renowned Dutch breeders Schreurs in India. Global Agritech provides quality employment, especially for women with 75 women from the neighbouring villages working at the farm. Jalpa H Vithalani was appointed on APEX body of APEDA – Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Shri. Kamal Nath – Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Global Agritech represented one of the largest Auction Houses in Europe, Flora Holland in India and was training other floriculture units to package and export their produce.

Carlos Font

Chief Executive Officer, Shipa Freight

Carlos Font has an impressive 20-year career in freight-operations and technology leadership with UTi Worldwide, DSV, and One Network Enterprises. Carlos has led a range of business-critical engagements, including large scale digital transformation programs, management of international supply chain & transportation networks, global process standardization and implementation of digital supply chain solutions for S&P 500 companies.

Since he joined Shipa Freight in 2019, Carlos and the Shipa Freight executive team are formulating new strategies to challenge the traditional freight-forwarding model, making it easier for enterprises to trade internationally and tap into the global economy. Ultimately, driving superior value to clients in international trade via Shipa Freight’s platform and the use of technology.

Nirbhik Narang

Executive Director, Cargo, Air India

Nirbhik Narang is the Executive Director, Cargo, Air India .Prior to this he was working as General Manger Cargo at Air India Headquarters at Delhi.

Narang has done his Masters in Business Administration and Hotel Management.

His journey with Air India started almost 30 years back during which he has gained a broad spectrum of experience in various leadership positions in the airline . He has been at the helm of affairs for many challenging roles . He has worked as General Manager –Commercial for Southern India ,Station Manager Ahmedabad, Country Manager-Nepal, Country Manager Singapore ,Head of Sales & Marketing for Eastern India . Although for a short tenure, but has played a pivotal role as a part of Air India’s Revenue Management team too .

With his vast leadership experience and a good understanding of the international aviation industry and its businesses, he is sure to take Air India’s cargo business to new heights.

Dennis Lister

Vice President Cargo Commercial Development, Emirates SkyCargo

Dennis Lister is Vice President – Cargo Commercial Development at Emirates SkyCargo, responsible for the Emirates Product Portfolio and maximizing the commercial performance globally. In addition, he is responsible for the ME market to lead the Cargo Commercial Operational activities. His career in the air freight and logistics industry began in 1995 and he has a successful track record working in a variety of senior management positions based in South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the UAE. His vast experience, combined with his in-depth knowledge of the global air cargo industry, has added significant value to Emirates SkyCargo in a very exciting and dynamic time for the industry. He has been the driving force behind the launch of Emirates Delivers, the first E-Commerce specific product launched by Emirates SkyCargo, and is continually exploring ways to develop new opportunities and partnerships to enable sustainable growth and profit for the Emirates Group.

Eric Wilson

Managing Director, Cargo Global Sales, Delta Cargo

Eric Wilson is Managing Director, Cargo Global Sales, of Delta Cargo.

Eric leads Delta Cargo’s global sales team and sales partners around the world. Eric brings a strong international background to the position, as well as being renowned throughout the air cargo industry for his customer focus and deep knowledge of the business.

A veteran with 25 years of industry experience, Wilson joined Delta Cargo in 2008 as General Manager–Strategic Partner Programs and National Accounts, bringing over 18 years of cargo experience to his role. In 2014 he relocated to Tokyo to assume the position of Director–APAC Cargo Sales.

With Kristin Colvile leading Cargo’s Commercial teams and Julian Soell leading Cargo Operations, Eric Wilson completes the strong leadership team, under Gareth Joyce, that will take Delta Cargo to the next level with a continued focused on best-in-class customer experience.

Satyaki Raghunath

Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport

Satyaki is the Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Bangalore International Airport (BIAL). He has almost two decades of experience in working with public and private sector investors and operators of aviation and transport infrastructure advising on business, finance, strategy, regulatory and project delivery related initiatives across the world. During this time, he has had extensive experience with aviation system planning across major cities like Chicago, Dubai, Houston, Istanbul, London, New Delhi.

In his role at BIAL, Satyaki leads the Strategy and Development BU focusing on (i) front-end corporate strategy and business development; (ii) traffic forecasting and slot coordination; (iii) the aviation business including airline marketing, cargo and concessionaires; (iv) capacity, master planning and programme management; and (v) innovation and digital transformation.

Prior to joining BIAL, Satyaki was with GMR Airports as Chief Innovation Officer for the airport sector across the group. Before this he held leadership roles at London Stansted Airport, Dubai Airports, where he was Head of Master Planning and at LeighFisher, a specialist global airport advisory firm.

Saurabh Kumar

Chief Executive Officer, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo

Saurabh is a Supply Chain & Strategy Professional with nearly two decades of experience in Aviation, Global Logistics, Infrastructure, Retail and Telecom sectors.

He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo. As part of this strategic focus, he is driving initiatives to expand the Cargo Terminal and its offerings to capitalize the opportunities from segments such as Pharma, Perishables, Express & Allied services. He is also actively working on projects related to automation and new technology adoption to improve productivity, traceability and response time.

He has been with GMR Group for 10 years and has led the ‘Strategic Planning’ function for several GMR Businesses viz. Hyderabad International Airport, Hyderabad Airport City & Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

In his last assignment, he was the CEO of the GMR Hyderabad Duty Free (HDF) Business where he led its stellar growth over the last 3 years making it the fastest growing Duty Free business in India. He was instrumental in undertaking several innovative practices involving Supply Chain Optimization, IT Adoption & Marketing which are particularly close to his heart.

Satish Lakkaraju

Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Agility Logistics

Satish Lakkaraju is the Chief Commercial Officer for India at Agility Logistics Pvt. Ltd. He is an alumnus of prestigious SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. He started his professional journey with the industry 20 years ago at AFL Pvt Ltd and has worked in various capacities with companies like AFL Pvt Ltd & Dachser India. He has been associated with Agility Logistics for 2 years now.

Experienced Head of Sales & commercial with a demonstrated history of working in the logistics and supply chain industry. Strong sales professional skilled in Negotiation, Import& Export, Operations Management, Air & Ocean Freight, Customs clearance and Sales & Marketing.

He is passionate about Life sciences and patient safety , speaks in various forums in India and overseas on the various subjects like Unbroken cold chain , infrastructure at airports for cargo handling for Pharma, Perishable exports.

David Beecham

Product Development Director, AirBridgeCargo

David Beecham has global responsibility for product development at AirBridgeCargo.

He has been working in Special Cargo for more than 40 years. After starting his own perishable transport business at the age of 17 and eventually selling it, he worked his way up through the industry. He held senior positions in the retail and logistics sectors joining Gist as European Development Director in 2003, and was appointed as the company’s Global Development Director in 2005. In 2009, he set up a consultancy business specializing in Temperature Controlled Logistics by air, sea and road. Following a successful Climate Controlled handling project for Qatar Airways Cargo, he was appointed Senior Manager Climate Controlled Products in 2013, developing the airline’s QR Pharma product. In 2015 he was appointed to the position of Senior Manager Cargo Products for Qatar Airways Cargo, globally responsible for all of the airlines cargo products.

In 2018 he joined Cargo Logic Management, part of the Volga Dnepr group, responsible for Product Development focusing mainly on developing the ABC Product offering and he has recently been transferred across to AirBridgeCargo to provide complete dedication.

Keshav Tanna

Chairman, Airfreight Institute of FIATA

Keshav Tanna is a professionally qualified logistics Industry veteran with over 2 decades of expertise in the Air Freight Forwarding Industry.

He is a founder Director of his Logistics Company “LINKS INTERNATIONAL” established in 1984.

Keshav has been the Past President of ACAAI (Air Cargo Agents Association India) and is currently on its Advisory Board.

Keshav represents ACAAI as an authorized member from India on FAPAA (Federation of Asia Pacific Air- Cargo Association) and is actively involved in Air Cargo industry matters concerning the Asia Pacific Region.

He is also a member of the Shipping and Logistics Committee of the IMC (Indian Merchant Chambers).

Tanna has been the Vice President of FIATA (The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association) for the past 4 years.

He is currently the Chairman of the Airfreight Institute of FIATA where he is actively involved with global Air Freight matters, and is a member of the IFGB (IATA FIATA Governing Board) for the proposed IFACP (IATA FIATA Air Cargo Program).

Amar More

CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions

Amar is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in supply chain, consulting and technology industries. He holds a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Supply Chain Management

Amar is on the panel of trade facilitation experts at UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission of Europe). He is the youngest member elected to represent the technology domain in the air cargo industry on the Board of Directors of “The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)”. He is on Confederation of Indian Industries’ (CII) ‘Task Force for Ease of Doing Business 2018-19’. He is also on the panel of National Committee on Logistics for Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Amar’s passion is to bridge the technology gap between the developed and developing logistics industries globally and his talented and passionate team at Kale Logistics has developed disruptive new generation technology solutions for the logistics industry which are transforming the industry and raising the levels of technology adoption in the SME sector of logistics industry in India & globally. Their work has received global accolades from several international forums as being the “Best Technology Provider to the Logistics Industry” for last 7 years. Amar also assists several governments on conceptualizing trade facilitation initiatives to usher in “Ease of Doing Business” using digital technology.

Markus Muecke

Board Member –CargoiQ, FIATA Air Freight Institute, IATA , FIATA Governance Board

Markus garnered + 40 years of international experience, after graduating from Swissair’s Business School in 1978, in mature & emerging markets as an airline and logistics professional including assignments in Europe, USA and heading Panalpina organizations in South Asia (1997-2004), South China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (2005-2009), completing his ten year tenure in Spring 2020 as the Global Head Air Freight Procurement & Product Management for the international forwarding and logistics provider.

Markus’s focus is on sustainability, compliance and digitalization. His contributions made to the industry have been recognized several times such as a Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Logistics, Panalpina’s awards as the Best Global Air Freight Forwarder as well as currently serving on the board of the FIATA’s Air Cargo Institute, CargoiQ and IATA FIATA Governance Board.

Willy Boulter

Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo

Willy Boulter has worked in the airline business for over 35 years, firstly with Cathay Pacific for 20 years, and then with other airlines including Virgin Atlantic Airways, South African, Etihad and an Emirates-sponsored team in Angola.

He has specific functional experience in all areas of commercial activity, including sales, revenue management, network planning, alliances, international relations, cargo, IT and regional management. He was CEO of Russia’s first Low Cost Carrier, Sky Express.

Born in Singapore, Willy is a UK/Irish national and has an MA from Oxford University. He is also an alumni of Sandhurst and served as an officer in the Royal Artillery and Royal Hong Kong Regiment. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Soceity.

Marcel Fujike

Senior Vice President ,Global Head Products & Development Air Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel

Marcel Fujike has the overall responsibility for services, products and development within the
global air logistics management team.

During the past 16 years, Marcel has been vanguarding the development and global implementation of various logistics solutions and standards within Kuehne + Nagel for several key industries like pharma & healthcare (KN PharmaChain), aerospace (KN EngineChain) or automotive and invented and launched Kuehne + Nagel’s digital solution “myKN Quote & Book” aka “KN FreightNet” which offers instant quoting, booking and tracking of air freight shipments.

In 2004, he joined Kuehne + Nagel at their global headquarter in Schindellegi / Switzerland. He started his aviation & logistics career with Lufthansa working for LH Technik first and then joining the first generation of the Lufthansa management trainee program “ProTeam”. After seven years at Lufthansa Cargo going through international placements in London, New Delhi (establishing Lufthansa Cargo India), Singapore and Frankfurt, whilst holding various management positions, he started his own consultancy with some friends, having the focus on restructuring ailing airlines and airports.

Russi Batliwala

Chief Executive Officer, Chapman Freeborn Group

Russi comes from an aviation family and worked for a number of commercial airlines before joining aircraft charter specialist Chapman Freeborn in 1987.

He took over the management of Chapman Freeborn Germany in 1990, followed by the group’s worldwide cargo product in 2000. During his 30 years with the company he has been involved in setting up a number of key global charter operations including subsidiary businesses in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.

Since his appointment as CEO of the Chapman Freeborn Group in 2009, Russi has been instrumental in developing a vision and strategy for the company’s global expansion.

In addition to the group’s core aircraft chartering activities, Russi has overseen the strengthening of the company’s portfolio of subsidiary businesses which include hand-carry specialist Chapman Freeborn OBC, animal transport company Intradco Global, and flight operations provider Wings 24.

The group was further enhanced in 2017 with the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Magma Aviation – a specialist air cargo company operationally managing B747-400F aircraft.

He currently serves on the TIACA board of directors and remains passionate about the air cargo sector after more than three decades in the industry.

Wilson Kwong

Chief Executive, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl)

Wilson Kwong joined Hactl – the largest independent cargo handler at the world’s number one cargo hub – as its Chief Executive in February 2018.

During his preceding 20 year career with companies in the Jardine Matheson Group, Wilson spent 7 years with Jardine Aviation Services Group, involved in passenger and ramp handling activities.

Wilson has stepped up Hactl’s strong focus on digitisation, innovation, compliance and sustainability. Recent initiatives under his management have included revolutionary digital cargo-locating and ramp efficiency systems, accreditation under CEIV Pharma, and the opening of a giant roof-top solar farm at SuperTerminal1.

In addition to charity work, Wilson is a Vice Chairman of the Employers’ Federation of Hong Kong, a Vice Chairman of the Environment and Sustainability Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; as well as a Member of the Energy Advisory Committee and a Member of the Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries of the HKSAR Government

Tom Crabtree

Regional Director, Airline Market Analysis, Marketing & Business Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Thomas Crabtree is regional director – Airline Market Analysis for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, a position he has held for over two decades. As regional director, Tom currently researches air cargo industry issues, with specific responsibility for serving airlines in the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). He is the primary author and chief editor of the Boeing World Air Cargo Forecast.

The forecast is published in even-numbered years and is considered a leading information resource for the industry. Tom’s expertise on commercial air cargo trends and military airlift has played a key role in Boeing product strategy and product-development efforts.

Tom has been with the Boeing Company since 1991. While with Boeing, he has held positions in Sales Support Engineering, Flight Operations Engineering and Marketing. While in the Marketing organization at Boeing, he also has worked in Product Analysis and Airline Economics.

As an economic analyst, Tom built aircraft operating cost models for start-up carriers based in the CIS, VIP aircraft operators and all-cargo carriers.

Tom holds a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering and an MBA from the University of Kansas, and he received a certificate in Russian technical language translation from Novosibirsk State University.

Keku Bomi Gazder

CEO- AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited (AAICLAS)

Keku Bomi Gazder, CEO, AAI Cargo Logistics & Allied Services has had a distinguished career of nearly three decades in the aviation sector in the Middle East and India, handling senior positions in leading companies like Air France-KLM Cargo, Martinair Cargo, Saudi Arabian Airlines, etc. Since June 2017, he is associated with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services, a 100% subsidiary of Airports Authority of India under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He looks after cargo and logistics activities at over 90 AAI airports, identifying business opportunities across various verticals of the company for future growth and formulating business strategies to be ahead of the competition in the cargo industry.

Recently, AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services commenced the handling of In-line Hold Baggage Screening System at AAI managed airports. He works in close association with the Ministry of Civil Aviation in his capacity for various projects.

Niranjan Navaratnarajah

Cargo Industry Director for Unisys Asia Pacific

Niranjan Navaratnarajah has 36 years of experience in Logistics including hands on roles in sales and marketing, operations, strategy, planning and management and as a thought leader in providing consulting for clients on innovation and guiding clients to a design and implement facilities and processes of the future. His experience spans working with airlines such as Sri Lankan airlines, Japan Airlines and Emirates Airlines and he possesses extensive global knowledge of air transport and its contribution to the economy. Niranjan was the business owner who managed the development and implementation of a new generation cargo system at Emirates. He chaired the Efreight and e-customs action group in Dubai and provided leadership and direction to adapting eFreight in Dubai as well as driving Emirates to be global leader in Efreight.

In collaboration with customers, Niranjan contributes to the development of new solutions for the clients in warehousing, logistics, simplification of processes, expanding order taking channels, mobility, analytics as well addressing business issues and future needs. He also provides the Unisys clients industry knowledge and guidance on innovation to drive new trends and efficiencies.

Emir Pineda

Manager, Aviation Trade & Logistics, Marketing Division,Miami-Dade Aviation Department

Emir Pineda is the Manager Aviation Trade & Logistics for the Marketing Division of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, which operates Miami International Airport (MIA). His duties include marketing/promotion, business development, technology/innovation, e-Commerce facilitation, trade & logistics, infrastructure expansion and air service development.

Emir’s career began at Miami International Airport in 1988 as an intern, later being promoted to the position of Marketing Specialist. He recently re-joined the Miami Dade Aviation Department in September 2015, after more than 20 years working in the public and private sector.

Emirhas enjoyed a long and diverse career path which includes; Director of Cargo Trade Development at DFW International Airport, later as a Consultant at Leigh Fisher Associates, and then as Director of Marketing and Business Development for Air France/KLM Martinair Cargo where he also served on the Board of Directors of Tampa Cargo, a Colombian cargo carrier. Before returning to MIA, Emir was the Commercial Route Development Manager for Cargolux, responsible for sales and operations throughout Latin America.

Emir is Chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Trade & Logistics Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), heads the MIA e-Commerce task force, is active on several committees of the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, represents the airport on the Steering Committee of the World Trade Center and is a member of the Beacon Council’s Trade & Logistics Sub-committee. He is also active in the Florida Blockchain Foundation.

Edoardo Podestá

Chief Operations Officer, Air & Sea Logistics, DACHSER Group

Edoardo Podestá, originally from Chiavari, Italy, is the COO Air & Sea Logistics of DACHSER Group since October 2019. He is responsible for the company’s global air and sea freight business which consists of 170 offices worldwide with more than 4,700 staff and a total revenue of close to 1.2 billion Euro. To achieve the DACHSER mission of becoming the world’s most integrated logistics provider, he takes the responsibility to expand Air & Sea Logistics network and further integrate it with DACHSER Road Logistics business.

Podestá is at the same time directly managing the Asia Pacific region. He has been Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics Asia Pacific since 2014. The region has more than 1,800 employees in 49 locations including Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Kaushal Khakhar

CEO, Kay Bee Exports

Kaushal Khakhar is the CEO of Kay Bee Exports, India’s largest air-freight exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables. He is a CA and MBA and has worked with PwC and Unilever before entering the family business. In a short span of 15 years, he has taken Kay Bee to market and product leadership position. Kaushal has transformed Kay Bee’s business model into a vertically integrated one. Kay Bee today has its own farming operations, tightly controlled contract farming, self-manufacture of organic pesticides, fleet of more than 50 vehicles, in-house freight forwarding (IATA accredited), self-customs clearance and a distribution company in UK. With revenues touching Rs.150 crores, it is a 2-star government recognized export house. Kay Bee holds stock of all major airlines from Mumbai and forwards roughly 7,000 tonesof its captive freight through them. It is also amongst the very few CRISIL rated companies in the industry and has achieved the highest credit rating for several consecutive years. Kay Bee has been the first and the largest to ship both mangoes and pomegranates to USA from India. Kaushal’s focus on innovation and infrastructure has catapulted Kay Bee to a known brand in the international markets.

Steven Verhasselt

Vice President, Commercial, Liege Airport

Steven Verhasselt joined Liege Airport, Belgium’s leading cargo airport, as Cargo Development Manager, Asia in 2006. Today, Steven works as Vice President, Commercial and Strategy, responsible for global business development of cargo, passengers and in charge of LGG Airport Consulting. Steven is based in Asia.

Steven entered the aviation world in 2001 running a project to start up a cargo airline based in Brussels. The project led him to the Middle East and Asia. In 2003, when working on a project in Hong Kong, he decided to stay there and start his own company consulting for airports, airlines and aviation related companies willing to develop business in Asia.

Steven graduated from Ehsal Business School in Brussels with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. He started working for the Regional Development Agency, focused on assisting startup companies with business plans, seed and venture capital. One of the projects he was assigned led him into cargo aviation.

Steve Townes

CEO & Founder-Ranger Aerospace & Chairman & CEO- ACL Airshop

Steve Townes is CEO and founder of Ranger Aerospace and its affiliates. Ranger’s largest and latest enterprise is ACL Airshop, the worldwide Air Cargo products, services, and leasing company, for which Townes is Chairman & CEO.

Townes is an engineering graduate of West Point, where he earned the Eisenhower Award. He holds an MBA from Long Island University and the advanced “PMD” from Harvard Business School. He is a featured expert speaker at aerospace conventions and has testified on aviation issues with the U.S. Congress, FAA, and NTSB.

He founded Ranger Aerospace in 1997. It co-invests with equity institutions to acquire and grow companies in the aviation and aerospace sectors. Ranger has employed as many as 4,250 people at 56 airports, and has transacted over $490 million in growth maneuvers so far. Previous Ranger successes include “ASIG,” Skytanking GmbH, Keystone Helicopter, Composite Technology Inc., Ranger International Services Group, and Intech Aerospace.

Steve has incisive and informative commentaries on the fast-moving Air Cargo segment in his trademark “high energy” style.

Ashok Rajan

Senior Vice President & Head, Cargo & Logistics Solutions Line of Business, IBS Software

Ashok is a Senior Vice President & Head of the Cargo & Logistics Business in IBS Software Solutions. Having spent close to 20 years with IBS, he has grown through the ranks of the organization to be currently heading one of IBS’ most successful businesses and is a member of the senior leadership team of the company.

Lesley Cripps

Sales Director, Cargo Flash Infotech

Lesley Cripps is an Aviation industry professional with over 30 year’s commercial & operational experience working within the cargo aviation industry for 5 major players, having held a number of key positions contributing to a broad knowledge of the industry. She has a proven track record of sales growth in all positions combined with excellent networking skills.

She started her career with Singapore Airlines where she developed her understanding of operations and excelled. She moved to Sales division of Martin at that time, a global cargo operator.

Her talents did not go unnoticed and she was approached by Chapman Freeborn to develop the UK markets in air cargo charter operations.

From Chapman Freeborn, she joined Saudia Arabian Airlines as Cargo Manager for the United Kingdom and during the first 8th months, turned around the operations and sales. Her work was noticed and she was requested to move to Brussels, to look after Europe in an interim period. During that time she made changes and turned around the company in Europe in both sales and operations. She was then promoted as the company’s first female senior manager to the position of Director Europe for both Cargo Sales and Operations.

She, then moved to Kazakhstan and took up a global role with Air Astana as Sales Director Cargo. Now she is the Sales Director in Cargo Flash Infotech.

Dorothea von Boxberg

Executive Board Member Product and Sales & Chief Commercial Officer-Lufthansa Cargo AG

Dorothea von Boxberg studied industrial engineering at Technical University of Berlin as well as business administration at ESCP Paris as part of a Masters-equivalent dual-degree programme.

Dorothea began her professional career in 1999 at the strategic management consultancy Boston Consulting Group in Stuttgart, Germany, serving most recently as project manager. She has worked in various industries and several countries.

In 2005, she took a position as ‘Director Alliance Development’ at the operating company of Star Alliance.

In 2007, Dorothea took her first position at Lufthansa Passage in the ‘Strategy and Investments’ division, which she headed from 2009 onwards. From 2012, she was responsible for ‘Customer Experience Design’ at Lufthansa Passage. During this time, she and her team rolled out a new generation of Business Class seats, developed the Premium Economy Class, which was launched at the end of 2014, and laid the foundations for the development of Lufthansa into the 5 Star Airline.

In 2015, Dorothea was transferred to Lufthansa Cargo and has headed ‘Global Sales Management’ since then. In this position, she was responsible for ‘Performance Management’, ‘Sales Processes’, ‘Pricing’, ‘Product management’ and ‘Innovation’, ‘Platform
Management’ of Austrian Airlines and Eurowings.

The Supervisory Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG has appointed Dorothea to the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG with effect from 1 August 2018.

Turhan Ozen

Chief Cargo Officer - Turkish Cargo

Turhan Ozen’s 30-year work experience involves sales, marketing, business development, logistics and supply chain related areas.

After graduating from Galatasaray High School, he began studying at the Department of Management at Bogaziçi University. Later, he got his Executive MBA at Koç University. He started his early career as the manager of the sales and logistics departments for the Koç Group’s affiliates in the automotive sector. He worked as the Distribution Operations Group Manager and Operations Director at TNT Logistics, where he had been involved since its establishment. Between 2012 and 2014, he was occupied as CEVA Balkans-Middle East and Africa Region VP of Business Development & Sales. Later in 2015, he was appointed to the position of CEVA Global Health Sector President. He served as the Managing Director of CEVA Logistics Middle East and North Africa region until he joined the Turkish Cargo family in December 2016.

Yashpal Sharma

Managing Director - Skyways Group

Yashpal Sharma has been in the cargo Industry for over 25 years where his innovative ideas and comprehensive experience has led his Group to achieve remarkable goals in the field of logistics.

Under his leadership and guidance, Skyways Group expanded in 26 cities across India and 3 international offices in Germany, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Skyways is also the No. 1 airfreight forwarder of India as per World ACD for the years 2017 and 2018.

He currently holds the position of the Hon. Secretary of the Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) and is associated with several such organizations as the moderator for sessions and forums.

His desire to contribute to the Industry lead him to establish ‘My LogisticsGurukul’, a premier institute bringing together industry specialists to create modules meant to be effective in creating a job- ready work force.

Prithviraj Singh Chug

Director - Group Concorde

Prithviraj is an impeccable leader. His immense capability to translate vision into reality can be seen through his committed and focused approach. A Boston University degree holder with a major in Finance and Entrepreneurship, he started his career with Group Concorde as a Director in 2013.

He heads and oversees all business development activities at the group. He has been the major driving force in realizing the vision of the company. As a true strategist and leader, he has been directing the organization on the path of success for the last 7 years. In the coming future, he has a larger role to play in realizing the vision, mission and objectives of the company while achieving its long-term goals.

His consistent mindful leadership has led the group in expanding its reach globally and in establishing Group Concorde as the largest and most successful Indian origin multi-national GSSA. With his exceptional capabilities as a futurist, he has been managing the airline representation business and the entire functioning of the company’s GSA domain spanning across international landscape.

Steven Polmans

Director Cargo & Logistics – Brussels Airport Company | Chairman – Air Cargo Belgium | Chairman - TIACA

Steven Polmans spent most of his career in the world of aviation and held management positions, both operational and commercial, in the handling industry. On October 1^st, 2010, he joined Brussels Airport as Cargo Marketing Manager and on February 1^st, 2012, Steven was appointed Head of Cargo and Logistics. In this position, he is responsible for developing and implementing the overall cargo strategy of the airport. Since 2016, Steven was also one of the founding fathers of Air Cargo Belgium and the first chairman of this newly established air cargo organisation at BRUcargo, grouping all stakeholders involved. In August of the same year, Steven also joined the board of TIACA, The International Air Cargo Association, of which he became Vice Chairman in October 2017. On April 1^st , Steven was promoted to Director Cargo & Logistics and amongst his new responsibilities, he is now also in charge of all cargo real estate development and portfolio management. In July 2019, Steven took over the role of Chairman at TIACA, a position he still holds today.

Glyn Hughes

Global Head of Cargo, International Air Transport Association (IATA)

Glyn Hughes has been involved in Air Cargo for over 30 years having started his career with British Caledonian in the UK. He joined IATA in 1991 and became IATA’s Global Head of Cargo in June 2014. He has the overall responsibility to ensure IATA delivers on the agenda agreed by the Cargo Committee to support the Air Cargo industry. Priority areas include safety, security, quality, special cargo, operations, transformation and industry sustainability. He is dedicated to working closely with industry stakeholder partners through GACAG and other relationships to foster collaborative solutions such as the IATA / FIATA Air Cargo Program. A firm believer in supporting the next generation of industry leaders, Glyn spends a large amount of time on outreach programs with training and other educational establishments.

He previously headed the IATA Cargo Agency and Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS) programs growing the CASS network to cover more than 80 operations in over 75 countries processing more than 18 million AWBs with a combined settlement value in excess of USD 29 billion. Glyn is based in Geneva.

Esteemed Speakers