Two accomplished Emiratis advance to leadership positions
New central leadership role for Network Passenger Sales Development to fuel growth strategy
Emirates has announced new appointments to its commercial leadership team as it ramps up its network, fleet and products for its next era of growth.
Among the team members assigned with new roles is Rashid Alardha, who has until recently served as Country Manager – Sri Lanka and Maldives. Rashid has been promoted to the role of Vice President Regional Clusters Sub-Saharan Africa. Rashid joined Emirates in 2009, and since then has gained extensive country management experience across eight countries in the Middle East, Africa, Far East, West Asia and Indian Ocean.
The newly created roles, which include Senior Vice President, Network Passenger Sales Development and Vice President for Passenger Sales – Regional Clusters will support the airline’s regional growth and market expansion ambitions, drive integrated performance across markets and segments, as well as foster key corporate relationships to drive long-term passenger growth, build market share and revenue.
As part of the newly established commercial leadership structure, two seasoned Emiratis have been appointed to lead key market clusters. These strategic appointments reflect the airline’s ongoing commitment to cultivate exceptional UAE National talent and develop the next generation of industry leaders.
Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline commented on the recent appointments: “Emirates stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as we scale up our network and deepen our engagement across an increasingly diverse range of markets and consumer demographics. This period of dynamic growth calls for leaders with the right commercial knowhow and the thinking to navigate our complex and evolving industry landscape, so that we can capitalise on emerging opportunities and cement our position as the airline of choice for global travellers. I’m particularly proud that two of the top roles will be led by UAE Nationals who have demonstrated their leadership excellence, and we’re committed to building a robust pipeline of homegrown talent to drive our continued growth.”
Commercial Appointments
Matthew Scott will lead Emirates’ Network Passenger Sales Development (NPSD) team as Senior Vice President, overseeing the airline’s Global Sales & Leisure teams. He was previously Vice President of Cargo Pricing and Interline at Emirates SkyCargo. Matthew began his Emirates career with SkyCargo in 2018 and has more than 20 years’ experience with international airlines holding key positions in passenger commercial operations, revenue optimisation and planning, including Head of Corporate and Leisure Sales and Head of Commercial Strategy.
Emirates has also made the following senior appointments within its commercial team:
Abdulla Al Olama has been promoted to VP Regional Clusters for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Abdulla previously held the role of Senior Regional Manager Commercial Operations Far East and has also managed commercial performance in the Far East, West Asia and Indian Ocean. He joined Emirates in 2012 and has worked across the commercial organisation, including teams in Interline, Codeshare and Revenue Optimisation.
Flavio Ghiringhelli has been promoted to VP Regional Clusters for South and Central Europe. He joined Emirates in 2018 as Country Manager Italy, bringing a wealth of senior leadership experience in corporate sales, commercial strategy and business development across aviation, hospitality and tourism.
Pierfrancesco Carino will join Emirates as VP Regional for West and North Europe Clusters later this month. He brings 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, omnichannel distribution, revenue management and strategic partnerships from various airlines. Pierfrancesco has previously worked for Emirates in Commercial Sales in France.
Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Executive Vice President Passenger Sales and Country Management is spearheading the new teams and structure.
