Swissport adjusts commercial structure and appoints new regional managers

As part of a new commercial structure, Swissport has redesigned its market setup and appointed new regional managers for Switzerland, Germany and Austria, Continental Europe, and Middle East & Africa. The new leaders report directly to the President & CEO.

Swissport has further developed its regional setup and appointed new regional managers for the four newly created regions of Switzerland, Germany & Austria, Continental Europe, and Middle East & Africa. The revised structure creates larger market clusters with direct reporting lines to the CEO and eliminates the former three super-regions and their respective regional overheads delivering better customer focus and faster decisions.

“Our new structure will make Swissport more customer centric. It enables faster decisions and supports operational excellence and a consistent service delivery,” says Warwick Brady, President & CEO of Swissport International AG. “Swissport is back. As the global sector leader, we want to combine great customer service with cost leadership and provide better process flexibility and system compatibility than any competitor.”

Switzerland

Swissport’s home market of Switzerland, with operations in Zurich, Basel and Geneva, has been led by Bruno Stefani since 1 June. As the new Head of Switzerland, he also oversees the Executive Aviation business in Nice, France, where Swissport operates a large fixed base operation. Bruno joined Swissport in 1996 and held several leadership positions in Passenger Services at Swissport Zurich before being appointed CEO of Swissport Losch Munich in 2010. Since the end of 2016, he has been leading Swissport’s large Zurich operation.

Germany & Austria

A dedicated region has also been established for Germany & Austria. Effective 1 June, Philipp Frech, previously Chief Operating Officer US East, has been appointed Head of Germany & Austria. He will be driving the business transformation in two of Swissport’s key markets in the heart of Europe. Philipp has joined Swissport in 2010 as Duty Station Manager in Munich, followed by several management positions at the company’s headquarters in Zurich. From 2016 he held several management roles for our regional offices in the US.

Continental Europe

Jan van Engelen has been appointed as Head of the new region Continental Europe. He will join Swissport on 1 July 2021. Jan is an experienced executive with over 25 years of service in the aviation training services industry. He has a proven track record of creating sustainable growth, strong financial results and value for the business, its customers and other stakeholders. In his most recent position with CAE, the global market leader in aviation training, Jan was Vice President Commercial Aviation Training for Europe, Middle East, Africa & India. In this position Jan was responsible for the world’s largest EASA Approved training organization. In prior roles he was also Vice President Global Sales, Business Development and Marketing at CAE, leading a team of over 80 professionals.

Middle East & Africa

As Head of the new Middle East & Africa region, Swissport has appointed Dirk Goovaerts, who will join the company on 1 September 2021. Dirk has over 25 years of experience in the cargo and ground handling industry. Dirk has a proven track record in customer centricity, operational excellence, innovation, digital acceleration and turnaround management, both driving growth and creating shareholder value.

Prior to joining Swissport, Dirk was CEO Asia Pacific with dnata. Previous roles included the positions as COO of Saudi Ground Services Company, Senior Vice President Europe with Menzies Aviation and as Finance Director Global Network of Outstations at Sabena.