LONDON: Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways and Iberia parent International Airlines Group (IAG), along with Alex Cruz, chairman and chief executive of Vueling, took the top honours at The Airline Strategy Awards this evening. The event is organised by Airline Business magazine in partnership with executive search firm Spencer Stuart.
The 2015 Executive Leadership Award went to Willie Walsh, while Alex Cruz was presented with the prestigious Airline Business Award.
Walsh was recognised by the judges for IAG’s string of successes, which include the restructuring and turnaround at Iberia amid difficult market conditions, as well as an increasingly strong balance sheet at British Airways and the acquisition and integration of a fully-owned low-cost arm with Vueling.
“With a focus on cutting costs along with some smart business decisions, Walsh and the IAG team have delivered a strategy which is already yielding the economic benefits,” said Max Kingsley-Jones, editor of Airline Business. “And he decided the best way to access the low-cost sector was to own a successful existing player.”
The Airline Business Award this year recognises Alex Cruz for his ongoing innovation in the European low-cost arena at the helm of IAG unit Vueling.
“Since establishing Vueling’s predecessor Clickair a decade ago, Cruz has led an innovation charge in Europe’s low-cost sector that others have followed,” said Kingsley-Jones. “This success resulted in its acquisition by IAG in 2013, where Cruz is now a rising star within the management team.”
The 2015 winners, by category, were:
Executive Leadership: Willie Walsh, chief executive, International Airlines Group
Low-Cost Leadership: Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo
Regional Leadership: Christoph Mueller, chief executive, Aer Lingus*
Finance: American Airlines
Marketing: Virgin America
Technology, Environment
and Operations : Gol
The Airline Business Award: Alex Cruz, chairman and chief executive, Vueling
* Christoph Mueller was recognised for leading the restructuring at Aer Lingus. He is now chief executive of Malaysia Airlines.
Max Kingsley-Jones, editor of Airline Business, said:
“The current trading environment is helping the industry to achieve record profits, but it is those airlines led by the smartest and most innovative management teams that are setting the benchmark. The Airline Strategy Awards have recognised the best individuals and teams in boardroom leadership since 2002, and this year’s winners all excel in this regard.”
Notes:
For the full citations on each category, visit: www.strategyawards.com
The winners for the six main award categories are selected by an independent panel of industry experts. Airline Business also presents its own award, recognising an individual making a lasting strategic contribution to the industry. For more about the judges, visit www.strategyawards.com
The awards are supported by some of the industry’s leading suppliers: CFM International, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Panasonic, Sabre Airline Solutions, SITA and Tampa International Airport
Daphné Savard occupe le poste d’administratrice du site ou webmestre ainsi que celui de responsable des relations avec les annonceurs et les lecteurs.
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