october2021 - 8

BUSINESS BUZZ
Schmitz, gategroup's chief financial officer
since January 2015.
Rossinyol joined gategroup in April
ADB SAFEGATE Announces
Appointment of COO and EVP
Airfield
ADB SAFEGATE announces the
appointment of Joe Pokoj to chief operating
officer of its global organization
and executive vice president of its airfield
business line. He will also retain his
current role as CEO Americas, a position
he has held since 2013. Pokoj has over 30
years' experience with the company and
is an airfield lighting industry veteran.
Pokoj's career with then ADB, started
in 1987 as electrical engineer, quickly
moving to project engineering manager,
where he was responsible for project
management of airfield lighting control
systems for the North American market.
In 1999, he became the director of
sales and marketing, having responsibility
for airfield lighting sales in North
America and international U.S. military
as well as business development, marketing
and technical services. In 2010
he added responsibility for Latin America,
and in 2013, became president and
CEO Americas. He is a results-oriented,
leader in sales and aftermarket experience,
engineering and operations.
" Joe brings a vast experience and
knowledge of ADB SAFEGATE's customers'
requirements to his new role
and is greatly respected by customers
and colleagues alike, " said Laurent
Dubois, CEO of ADB SAFEGATE. " This
makes him uniquely qualified to steer
our organization as we, and our industry,
move forward out of the coronavirus
pandemic, as well as longer term with
our strategic transformation journey. "
gategroup Announces Schmitz as
New Chief Executive Officer
gategroup announced that Xavier Rossinyol
will step down as chief executive
officer, effective Nov. 1, to pursue new
challenges outside of the airline industry.
He will be succeeded by Christoph
2015 and led the company through a
strong growth phase with record yearon-year
financial results; and navigated
the complex COVID-19 pandemic.
" Under Xavier's leadership, gategroup
has truly become a global food-focused
company and the world-leading inflight
caterer, being recognized for providing
the most innovative culinary and retail
offering tailored to individual customer
needs in any market they operate, consistently
and efficiently. gategroup is
uniquely positioned today for the return
of travel and to serve new customers
beyond aviation, " said Timo Vättö, chairman
of the board of gategroup.
Schmitz joined gategroup
as chief financial
officer and member of the
executive management
board in January 2015 with
over 20 years of experience
as a CFO at multinational companies. In
his capacity as group CFO, Schmitz has
been involved in all key strategic projects
of the group. He led the public-to-private
ownership transition in 2016, the
acquisitions of Servair and LSG Europe,
the changes of ownership in 2018 and
2019, and the restructuring initiatives in
2021 to secure the group's financial position
and build a stronger, more diversified
portfolio for the future.
" Christoph's contribution has been
instrumental to drive the market consolidation
strategy and secure the financing
to enable gategroup weathering the crisis.
The board is confident that under Christoph's
leadership, the gategroup team
will resume and accelerate on its growth
path, " said Vättö.
Swissport Appoints Pascua as
the New Head of Latin America
and the Caribbean
Rene Pascua has been
appointed as head of
Swissport's Latin America
and the Caribbean region.
Together with his regional
8 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE OCTOBER 2021
commercial team, he will drive the business
from Miami in close cooperation
with local teams across the region.
Pascua took over from Frank Mena,
who was managing Latin America and
the Caribbean on an acting basis in addition
to his regular role as head of USA
and Canada on Sept. 1. Pascua has held
different roles in the airline, cargo and
ground handling industry over the past
12 years. He has a proven track record in
establishing customer centricity, driving
sustainable growth and delivering strong
results.
" We are delighted to welcome Rene
Pascua as our head of Latin America and
the Caribbean, " Warwick Brady, president
and CEO of Swissport International
AG, said. " With customer centricity at
the core of our agenda, Rene and his
local teams across the region will be
instrumental in delivering value to our
customers. "
Prior to joining Swissport, Pascua was
senior vice president of Triangle Services
Ground Handling Aviation Division and
regional director for North America and
Caribbean with LATAM Airlines where
he held leadership roles in ground and
cargo operations. He holds a Bachelor of
Science in Industrial Engineering from
Purdue University and a Master of Business
Administration from the University
of Miami.
dnata appoints Charles Galloway
as Regional CEO for Asia Pacific
dnata announced the
appointment of Charles
Galloway as its regional
chief executive officer for
the Asia Pacific region.
In his new role, Galloway
will oversee dnata's
operations at 13 airports in four countries,
including Australia, Singapore, the
Philippines and Indonesia, managing
4,800 aviation professionals. He will
be based in Singapore and report to
David Barker, dnata's divisional senior
vice president for airport operations.
Galloway's appointment is effective
immediately.
october2021

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