On the Move: August 2026 Aviation, Airline & Aerospace Executive Changes

Each month, Frank Jay & Associates tracks the executive moves shaping the airline, aviation, and aerospace industries — the promotions, new hires, and leadership transitions worth knowing about if you’re building or leading a team in this space. August 2026 brought a significant CEO succession at Air Canada, where Anko Van der Werff arrives from Scandinavian Airlines to succeed Michael Rousseau, and a historic first at IATA, where Saadia Zahidi was named Director General, the first woman to hold the role. easyJet reshuffled its top commercial and operating leadership, SkyWest promoted Wade Steel to President and COO, and JetZero added two heavyweight board members. Below is the full rundown, company by company.

AAR: Hanna Cosgrove was promoted from Senior Director, Technical Sales, to Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

ABX Air: Paul Hill joined as Director of Maintenance and Technical Services, coming from Amazon Air, where he served as Head of Widebody Heavy Maintenance Execution.

Air Canada: Anko Van der Werff will succeed Michael Rousseau as President and CEO, coming from Scandinavian Airlines, where he serves as CEO. David Clear rejoined as Director, Income Tax Advisory, after a brief stint as Tax Director at Deloitte. Dexin Liu was promoted from Senior Manager to Director, Energy - Global Procurement & Trade. Graeme Bent was promoted from Director, End User Services, to Senior Director, Cloud, Infrastructure, Network, and Platform Services. Mark Featherstonhaugh joined as Director, Transformation Delivery & Excellence, after serving as Senior Manager at Deloitte Canada. Raphaëlle De Gagné was promoted from Senior Manager to Director, Data & AI Strategy & Governance. Stefan Ragheb, CFE, was promoted from Senior Manager, Fraud & Customer Cybersecurity, to Director, Identity and Trust.

Alaska Airlines: Ben Minicucci, CEO and President of Alaska Air Group, joined Lyft’s Board of Directors. Jacqueline (Stambaugh) Smith moved from Director, Commercial Analytics, to Director, Revenue Management. Raushan Sagalbayeva joined as Finance Director, Maintenance & Engineering, after serving as Head of FP&A at Spreetail.

American Airlines: Cory Thompson joined as Director, Sr. Attorney, Technical Operations, coming from eBay, where he served as Global Affiliate and Marketing Counsel. Joe Green, previously Sr. Director, Commercial, Area 5 Mountain/Southwest at DHL Express, joined as MD Customer Care - CLT. John W. Dietrich was elected to American’s board of directors, most recently serving as EVP and CFO of FedEx Corporation and previously as President and CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide. Melissa Mango was promoted from Director, Airport Operations and Continuous Improvement, to MD Operations Administration. Michael Almeida was promoted from Senior Manager, Revenue Management, to Director, Revenue Management Continuous Improvement & Innovation. Pascual Alvarez moved from MD Customer Care to MD Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Richard Page, previously with Ricondo, joined as Director, Airport Planning - Corporate Real Estate. Rod Miller, MD Operations Administration, retired after 27 years at American.

Ascent Aviation Services: Leanna Speer, formerly with Whole Foods Market, joined as Human Resources Director.

Avelo Airlines: Jim Martin joined as VP, Head of Airport Operations. He previously served as Senior Director, Airport Operations at Spirit Airlines.

Aviation Technical Services: Kloey Chan was promoted from Senior Manager to Director, Accounting & Audit. Sherry Bergstrom was promoted from Director to Senior Director, Marketing - Brand - Communications.

Contour Aviation: Randy L. Knowles was named EVP of Technical Operations, coming from Spirit Airlines, where he served as Director of Maintenance and Director of Maintenance Control. Kristin Garcia joined as Director of Marketing and Brand, coming from Spirit Airlines, where she was most recently Brand Activation Manager.

Delta Air Lines: Eric Pricco was promoted from Director, Customer Experience, to Managing Director, Airport Operations for the Florida & Austin Region. Paul Buckley was promoted from Managing Director, Operations, to VP Airport Operations. Sweta Gurnani moved from Director, Enterprise Financial Planning & Analysis, to Director, MRO Strategy & Development.

easyJet: Daniel Skjeldam will become Chief Commercial Officer, succeeding Sophie Dekkers, who comes from senior commercial roles at Norwegian Air Shuttle. Dekkers will become COO, succeeding David Morgan, who will return to line flying.

Elevate Capital Partners: Allison Koschnick moved from Director, Commercial Transactions, Legal at Sun Country Airlines to VP, Commercial & Legal at Elevate Capital Partners.

Endeavor Air: Kevin Kyro left after nearly 10 years, most recently as VP Technical Operations, to become General Manager, Americas, at Trekea Mobile. Patrick Fluegeman joined as Chief Operating Officer, coming from Ameriflight, LLC, where he served as President & CEO.

Envoy Air: Agustin Jerome Siguenza moved from Director, Transportation Services, to Director, Envoy Customer Care.

GA Telesis Engine Services: Avinash Singh was promoted from VP of Sales to Senior VP of Sales, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

gategourmet: Jordan Stenerson joined as Managing Director, Canada Hubs, coming from Chief of Staff at HelloFresh.

GE Aerospace: Soumaya Jabrazko was promoted from Executive - Services Contracts Leader to VP of Airbus Programs. Stephanie Biehle joined as Senior Director, Program Management, after a 20-year career in the US Navy, most recently serving as Executive Officer at Naval Air Station Whiting Field.

Global Crossing Airlines: Jennifer Alfonso, VP of Human Resources, left to become Chief Human Resources Officer at Resolve Marine.

IATA: Saadia Zahidi was appointed Director General, becoming the first woman to hold the role. She previously served as Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board at the World Economic Forum, and succeeds Willie Walsh. IATA CFO Sandrine Le Borgne will serve as Interim Director General.

IndiGo: Kiran Thadimarri, Deputy CFO, was promoted to CFO, succeeding Gaurav Negi, who transitioned to Advisor to the Managing Director.

International Airlines Group: Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, was named Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, succeeding American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, whose three-year term ends this year.

Jet Linx: Pamela Pearlman was named SVP of Marketing, returning to private aviation after most recently serving as CMO at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York.

JetBlue: Denia Pisia, Managing Director, Crew Resources & Planning, left after more than 3 years to become Associate VP, Crew Acquisition & Movement, at Royal Caribbean Group.

JetZero: Eric Hirshberg joined the Board, bringing experience as the former CEO of Activision, along with current advisory and board roles at Beta Technologies, Skydio, Metropolis, UpPartners, XPRIZE Foundation, and UCLA’s School of Arts & Architecture. Patrick Shanahan joined the Board, bringing experience as President and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, 30 years at Boeing, and service as Deputy Secretary of Defense and Acting Secretary of Defense.

JSX: Josh Belkin joined as Chief Commercial Officer, coming from the role of SVP, Revenue Management & Player Engagement at Topgolf, with prior roles at Omni Hotels & Resorts, Expedia Group, and Bain & Company. Mijan Rahman joined as Director of Engineering, coming from a PhD program in Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University.

Kenmore Air: Andrew Bonney was named CEO, succeeding David Gudgel, who is leaving the carrier. Bonney previously served as Cape Air’s COO.

KLM: Mathieu Essenberg was named COO and a member of the Managing Board, having previously served as interim COO and EVP Engineering & Maintenance.

Magnifica Air: Rich Fetro was promoted from Director of Quality and Fleet Management to Vice President of Technical Operations.

National Business Aviation Association: Christopher J. Rocheleau returned as COO, having previously served as NBAA COO and as acting Administrator and later Deputy Administrator of the FAA. Emily Deaton joined in a newly created role as SVP for Product Development and Sales, coming from four years as CEO of jetAVIVA, where CFO Kathy Oberbroeckling now serves as Interim CEO.

NetJets: Brian J. Sinnwell joined as SVP Real Estate & Development, coming from Principal, Airport Affairs at Amazon Global Air. Jeff DeVore was promoted from Senior Associate Counsel to Deputy General Counsel.

SkyWest Airlines: Wade Steel was promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to President and Chief Operating Officer. Bryce Bailey, previously Managing Director of Planning, was promoted to VP of Commercial Contracts.

Southwest Airlines: Matt Klein joined as VP, Pricing. He was most recently EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Spirit Airlines, where he spent nearly 9 years. Jenny Webb Sikes was named VP, Accounting & Financial Reporting, succeeding retiring Ray Schuster. Bennett Boltinghouse was promoted from Senior Manager to Director of Operations Engineering. Lee Mitchell was promoted from Director, Customer Relations & Rapid Rewards, to Managing Director, Servicing & Disruptions Strategy.

United Airlines: Luke David was promoted from Director, Flight Operations Training, Scheduling and Administration, to Managing Director, Aviate and Pilot Strategy. Sam Haghgoo joined as Managing Director, MileagePlus, previously serving as Product Lead, Apple Card and Savings, at Apple.

Wheels Up: Daniel Ketchel moved from Director, Sustainability Performance and Strategic Partnerships, at Wheels Up’s parent company, Delta Air Lines, to Senior Director, Investor Relations, Capital Markets & Sustainability, at Wheels Up.