Air Freight News

New joint managing directors for allivate

Jan 07, 2026

allivate, the Frankfurt-based IT company specializing in air cargo solutions, is starting 2026 with two new leaders. Since January 1, the Managing Director team of Matthias Hupka and Niklas Petri have headed the company's operations. Both were previously employed by allivate as senior consultants.

Within the corporate structure, Matthias Hupka will focus on IT, project management, and product management. His responsibilities include both the technical and strategic development of the FAIR@Link platform, as well as integrating new modules and services. A computer scientist by training, Mr. Hupka began his career at Fraport before moving on to cimt and the consulting firm WSP, where he held various IT advisory roles. He brings extensive experience in air cargo, consulting, and IT development.

Niklas Petri is responsible at allivate for sales and for the operational design of digitized and automated air cargo processes. He will be leading efforts on market expansion, strategic development, and the creation of new services and business models. Mr. Petri, an economist specializing in logistics, is also a qualified forwarding agent, giving him the ability to understand processes from various perspectives. At DB Schenker, he focused on air cargo, while he assumed project management and strategic development roles at DB Cargo.

Matthias Hupka and Niklas Petri

Petri and Hupka have identified process consulting and strategic expansion as a joint priority in their new roles. The two new managing directors agree: “Our unique selling point is how we work closely with the community on the digital transformation to achieve the best possible result for the air cargo industry. We want to apply the very successful concept of an established and shared Cargo Community System that has been developed at FRA to other airports.”

The leadership team will work closely with its joint venture partners, DAKOSY and Fraport, which operate in the background as a robust backbone. Hupka will interface closely with DAKOSY, which is in charge of the development and operation of the FAIR@Link platform. Petri is the link to Fraport, which is bringing its air cargo network and its distinctive community and process strengths to the joint venture – an ideal launchpad for growth beyond Frankfurt.

In January 2024, allivate began its operations with Martina Schikorr and Dirk Gladiator as joint managing directors, who successfully positioned the company in the market. In June 2025, Denis de Farias Duarte took over Ms. Schikorr's role on an interim basis. From January 2026, Hupka and Petri will jointly head the new leadership. Gladiator will remain with allivate in an advisory capacity until March 31, 2026.

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