Paul Steele

Paul Steele

Paul Steele is Corporate Secretary and Senior Vice President of Member and External Relations, of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an organisation representing 285 airline members and more than 80% of global civil aviation. He is responsible for guiding and implementing IATA’s strategic advocacy and stakeholder relationship activities worldwide. He engages extensively with government and UN bodies, particularly the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and often coordinates and leads negotiations on behalf of the airline industry.
Paul served as the Executive Director of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), a cross-industry body that promotes sustainable aviation, from 2008 to 2014. He currently serves as a member of the ATAG Board of Directors.
Prior to joining IATA in December 2007, Paul was Chief Operating Officer of WWF International. Before the WWF, Paul had over 20 years’ senior management experience with major international companies. His roles included Chief Executive of The Virgin Trading Company; Senior Vice President Sales, Marketing and Information Technology of the Hilton Hotel Group, covering 150 hotels in 50 countries and overseeing a sales and marketing team of 1,000 people; and various senior roles at Pepsi Cola International, lastly serving as Group Vice President in charge of Northern Europe.
He has lived and worked in France, Austria, Egypt, Turkey and Switzerland. He holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with French and a Diploma in Industrial Studies from Loughborough University and is a former faculty member of the Prince of Wales’s Business and the Environment Programme run by Cambridge University.