Antonis Simigdalas President

Chief Operating Officer of Aegean Airlines, Simigdalas holds a Cranfield University Master of Science degree, serving there as a teaching and research assistant. Awards include the Euroaward 2000 and Airline Manager of the Year 2000 by Regional Airline World. He is a member of the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics, the Flight Safety Foundation; a Fellow of the UK Royal Aeronautical Society, an aeroplane and glider pilot and reserve Hellenic Air Force Officer.

Carlos Bertomeu Vice President

Building on his BSc from Valencia University, Carlos gained an MBA from Instituto de Empresa, Madrid, and then began his career at the IE Business School, offering finance and strategy consultancy while teaching. He later became Director of MBA and Executive MBA programmes. In 1994, industrial and finance corporation Nefinsa appointed him Director of Investment and Strategic Development, entrusting him with the Air Nostrum launch. He is CEO of Air Nostrum, and Board Member of several institutions.

Padraig O'Ceidigh Vice President

From its beginnings as a small, island-hopping airline, Padraig O'Ceidigh has driven Aer Arann to its current position as one of the fastest growing regional airlines in Europe with a turnover in excess of €94 million and passenger numbers in excess of 1 million for 2005. The airline now operates over 600 flights per week across Ireland, the UK and France. Padraig, a fluent Irish speaker, from County Galway originally trained as an accountant and has worked as a teacher and solicitor.

Stefan Wentjärvi

Appointed President and CEO of Blue1 in September 2005, Wentjärvi was previously Chief Financial Officer in Blue1 and has been a member of the Executive Management Group since 2000. His career within the airline industry began in 1986 and during this time he has been part of many different projects and one of the driving forces behind the Blue1 expansion that started year 2000 and continuing today. Mr Wentjärvi has a Masters degree in Political Science and a degree in National Economics, Finance and Investment.

Marc Lamidey

A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and Les Ponts et Chaussées, Marc Lamidey joined Air Inter in 1976 where he spent 21 years appointed to different responsibilities including fleet planning, scheduling, marketing and corporate planning. After the merger, he spent one year in the US as a liaison between Air France and Continental Airlines. In 1998, he was promoted to Air France Executive VP, in charge of Marketing and Corporate Development. He was also President and CEO of Frequence Plus SA. Since December 2001, he has been President and CEO of Brit Air and the ICARE Training Centre.

Bryan Huxford

Huxford joined the aviation industry in 1973, from electrical and domestic appliance retailing. His Lease Air Ltd, trading as Eastern Airways, commenced that year and went on to become a scheduled service operator with services from Humberside. In 1982 the business was sold to General Relay with the operating name changed to "Genair", initially with Huxford remaining as MD. The company was founder member of "British Caledonian Commuter Division". Huxford jointly set up the current Eastern Airways Group in 1997.

Michel Coumans

Michel Coumans joined KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1978 and has remained in the company ever since. His career began with the development of regional markets in Europe, acting as a liaison between KLM and, what at the time was called, Air Anglia in the UK. He has experience in all aspects of the airline business, having worked in KLM’s Passenger Business, Cargo, Engineering & Maintenance and Operations Control departments, including some 10 years spent abroad. He was appointed CEO of KLM Cityhopper in 2006.

Klaus Froese

Klaus Froese has been one of Lufthansa CityLine’s Managing Directors since 1 July 2006. His career started in 1987 as a First Officer; 2 years later he joined the Lufthansa Passenger Airline, where he worked in a managing position in Fleet Management. He changed over to Lufthansa CityLine as a Captain and rejoined the Lufthansa Passenger Airline after three years. In 1998 he became the head of Quality Management Operations before working as a Captain with duties of Training Captain. Between 2002 and 2006 Klaus Froese was Group Safety Pilot and Quality Manager in Operations.

Jan Palmér

Palmér's history in the regional airline business goes back to 1989, when he became President of Malmö Aviation; since then, he has been deeply involved in issues affecting the future of Swedish aviation. He became Vice Chairman of the Aviation Employer's Association in 1992 and participated in the formation of the Swedish Air Transport Society. He serves as Chairman of the Swedish Aviation Association and has a firm belief in continued strong growth for regional air traffic in Europe.

Manfred Brennwald

Manfred has been SWISS’s Chief Operating Officer since 1 April 2003 through 2007 and is acting Chairman of the Board of Swiss European Air Lines. He holds a masters degree in machine engineering and was a commander on Airbus A330 aircraft until 2003. From 1992 Brennwald directed the Swiss Civil Aviation School and from 1995-2001 he was leading the Swissair Training Centre and became EVP Operations of Swissair in 2001. He is Vice Chairman of the Flight Safety Foundation and a member of several boards in civil aviation.

Manfred Helldoppler

Manfred Helldoppler joined Tyrolean Airways in 1980, being a member of the team which planned the airline's initial scheduled flights.  Since then he has worked in many areas, including ground handling, ticket sales, charter calculations and agreements, traffic rights, airport slots, catering, inflight services, aircraft interiors, operations control, dispatch, performance and navigation.  He was project leader for the introduction of the F70, CRJ, Q400 and F100 and for the introduction of business class.  Helldoppler was appointed Executive Vice president in 2003 and President in 2006.

Alexander Kanishchev

Graduating from the Civil Aviation Academy in 1977, Alexander took an MBA degree at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation in 2006. In 2000 he was appointed Director of the Network Department. In May 2007 he was appointed First Deputy CEO for Strategic Programs realization. In 2003, Alexander became the Chairman of the board of directors of the Joint Stock Company “Aeroflot-Nord”, and a member of the board of directors of the subsidiary companies “Aeroflot-Don” and “Terminal”, the new Aeroflot terminal construction company. Today he coordinates projects aimed at developing the Aeroflot group of companies.

Roland Hermann

Roland Hermann started his career at Salzburg Airport in 1981 as head of air traffic. Since 1990 his position has expanded to Airport Manager with commercial power of attorney, responsible for traffic development, marketing, advertising, passenger and ramp handling, freight services and environment (budgeting 36m Euros revenue planning with 102 employees). He became CEO of Salzburg airport in June 2007.

Dr. Roland Wondolleck

Roland Wondolleck has been involved in aviation for over 30 years, and knew how to fly an airplane before he had a driver’s licence. In 1994 he became CEO of Rotterdam Airport, where under his leadership traffic more than tripled. His strong belief in the positive developments and ever growing importance of regional aviation, concerning economical as well as environmental aspects, motivates him to actively participate in campaigns and initiatives contributing to a positive image for the (regional) aviation industry, as well as in the ERA Board.

Clemente Affinito

An Economics graduate from the University of Naples, Clemente holds an MBA in Business Development and a Masters Degree in Aerospace Industry & Marketing. In 1995, he was seconded by Alenia Aeronautica to strengthen the commercial team of Aero International (Regional), the then joint venture between ATR and British Aerospace. He was also involved in Asset Management and financing activities, for ATR. Since 2002 he has been responsible within ATR for Sales & Marketing in Morocco, Israel and Europe, where he counts amongst his customers the largest ATR-500 series operators in the world.

Stewart Cordner

Stewart entered the aviation business as a British Aerospace technical apprentice in 1985. A global career in regional commercial aviation spanning 23 years has ensued, encompassing manufacturing, customer support and latterly Sales and Asset Management.  Stewart has spent most of that time in various management positions overseas in Colombia, USA, China and Europe supporting and developing regional operators.  He is currently Vice President - Business Development for BAE SYSTEMS Asset Management, and Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board for CST AVRO Berlin, a JV Simulator Training business with Lufthansa Cityline.

Barry MacKinnon

A Dalhousie University graduate and Loughborough University, UK, post-graduate, MacKinnon joined Boeing deHavilland as airline analyst in 1986 and then Canadair's Regional Jet Division in 1991. He has been with Bombardier's Regional Aircraft division since its inception in 1992. Vice President of Marketing and Airline Analysis since 2002, MacKinnon was previously Director of Program Strategy in Aircraft Programs and Director of Airline Analysis for the Americas. He is a member of IATA's International Industry Working Group for airport and airplane compatibility and a member of the RAA Associate Member Council.

John Doyle

Doyle graduated in the US, joining Piper Aircraft as an International Product Specialist and pilot. In 1971, he founded North American - Rockwell International, European General Aviation Division in Geneva, Switzerland, to market their Rockwell Commander. By 1977, he was launching Fairchild Aircraft Corp. into Europe’s "commuter" industry with the introduction of the Fairchild Metro and, in 1990, did the same with Embraer to establish a marketing office in Paris for the introduction of the ERJ regional jet family.

Todd Freeman

As Senior Vice President & Manager of Regional Jet Programmes, Todd is responsible for growth and profitability of the regional jet portfolio at GECAS. In 15 years at GE, he has held sales and marketing roles at GECAS and GE Aircraft Engines in Europe, Asia and the USA. Prior to GE, his experience included Airbus Industrie and JP Morgan. Todd received MBA/MA degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BS degree from Lehigh University.

Olaf Dlugi OD CONSULTING

Olaf Dlugi has a broad range of flight and flight instruction experience from Mach 2 fighters to heavy metal (747) and took a post graduate management course at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland (HSG). He was President & CEO of Augsburg Airways for six years (1996 - 2002) and has also been a past member of the ERA Board. Currently he runs his own consultancy firm and is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee of SESAR, representing the interests of regional aviation.