PATA confirms new CEO

Martin Craigs has been named as the new CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), effective October 31, 2011.

Martin Craigs has been named as the new CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), effective October 31, 2011. Martin is the currently elected President of Aerospace Forum Asia (AFA) and Managing Partner at Hillcrest International Advisory. For the last 25 years, Martin, 55, a UK and Irish passport holder, has been mostly based in Hong Kong. An aviation industry specialist, Martin has held important and senior positions at companies such as Short Brothers and Saab Scania Group, rising to become Executive Vice President of BAE Systems.

As an airline industry marketer and advocate, he has undertaken projects and worked in Europe, the USA, Latin America, and the Middle East over the last 30 years. Since 1986, due to his experience, advocacy skills, and network of contacts, Martin has retained leadership of the pan-Asian nonprofit advocacy group AFA. AFA’s current sponsors include Airbus, Boeing, and Cathay Pacific. Martin understands the travel industry, and with his long AFA experience, he understands associations and the importance of membership.

Bill Calderwood, PATA Interim CEO, informed PATA board members this morning before opening day 4 of the PATA Travel Mart in Delhi. He said: “I personally believe that Martin will bring visionary leadership, outstanding public speaking skills, and strong inter-cultural diplomacy and advocacy skills to the PATA helm. He is the right person to lead PATA, as the association commits to an exciting future of building business and advocacy on behalf of our members.”

For example, over the last few years, Martin has been asked to lobby for and advise diverse organizations such as Air Asia, the Hong Kong SAR Government, Reed Elsiver, The Economist, IATA, and Pacific Basin Economic Council. He has been a guest of IATA at the last 10 Annual General Meetings of the World Transport Summits. He has also attended APEC summits in Asia and Latin America.

Martin has told me that he applauds the new commitment of PATA to business building and external advocacy.

To view a couple of TV interviews with Martin on CNBC, go to:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000041385
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1975011409

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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