Six key executives leading the aviation industry in Dubai and the Northern Emirates: Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Maurice Flanagan, Tim Clark, Adel Ali, Ghaith al-Ghaith and Omar Jahameh
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum
Position: President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; chairman, Emirates Airline & Group
Biography: Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum holds several senior positions in Dubai’s government, including president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), and is chairman of Emirates Airline & Group. Under his leadership, Emirates has become one of the world’s largest airlines since its launch in 1985 as a regional carrier. Sheikh Ahmed also became chairman of Emirates Group’s budget airline, Flydubai, when it launched in 2009. As DCAA president, Sheikh Ahmed oversaw the opening of Dubai World Central – Al-Maktoum International airport in 2010 and Dubai International airport’s Terminal 3 in 2008. Sheikh Ahmed has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the US’ University of Denver, Colorado. He is also a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4 295 1111
Maurice Flanagan
Position: Executive vice-chairman, Emirates Airline & Group
Biography: Maurice Flanagan was appointed executive vice-chairman of Emirates Airline & Group in 2006. Prior to this, he was vice-chairman and group president from 2003 after his appointment as group managing director of the Emirates Group in 1990. Flanagan began his aviation career in the Royal Air Force as a navigation officer. In 1953, he joined British Overseas Airways Corporation, the forerunner of British Airways, as a graduate trainee. He rose through a variety of overseas posts, returning to the UK in 1965 as a route planning manager for the airline. He joined British Airways’ senior management team in 1974. In 1978, Flanagan left the UK again to become director and general manager of Dnata, the forerunner of Emirates and now its sister company. He was then employed by the Dubai government to launch Emirates airline as its managing director in 1985.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4 295 1111
Tim Clark
Position: President, Emirates airline
Biography: Tim Clark has been president of Emirates airline since 2003. Before this, Clark had been head of airline planning since 1985.Previous to joining Emirates, Clark had worked at Gulf Air in Bahrain since 1975, and previously at the now defunct British Caledonian, which he joined in 1972. In April 1998, Clark was made managing director of SriLankan Airlines following Emirates’ acquisition of a major stake in the carrier, but when the Sri Lankan government took over the airline, Emirates did not renew its management contract. As well as his duties as president of Emirates airline, Clark was instrumental in creating the Emirates Airline Foundation, a non-profit charity organisation of which he is chairman. Clark is an economics graduate from London University and a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4 295 1111
Adel Ali
Position: Chief executive officer (CEO), Air Arabia
Biography: Launched in 2003, Air Arabia was the first airline in the Middle East and North Africa to import the low-cost carrier model from Europe. Adel Ali has expanded the firm swiftly, floating it to form the region’s first publicly owned airline. Ali was previously at Bahrain-based Gulf Air as vice-president of commercial and customer service. He also spent more than 20 years at British Airways, holding several management positions before taking over as general manager of the company’s Middle East & Africa division. Ali has overseen Air Arabia’s expansion from its main hub in Sharjah to include two international hubs in Egypt and Morocco in the cities of Alexandria and Casablanca respectively. He is regarded with the aviation industry as a Middle East airline expert. Ali holds a master’s degree from Marlhurst University, Oregon, in the US.
Contact Tel: (+971) 6 508 8888
Ghaith al-Ghaith
Position: CEO, Flydubai
Biography: Ghaith al-Ghaith has been CEO of Dubai’s first budget carrier, Flydubai, since its launch on 1 June 2009. Before this, Al-Ghaith was executive vice-president for commercial operations worldwide for Emirates airline since 1995. He was previously senior general manager of commercial operations in the Middle East, Africa & Commonwealth of Independent States from 1994. Al-Ghaith joined Emirates as a management trainee in 1986. He became deputy passenger sales manager for the UAE in 1988, then deputy manager for overseas development and marketing in 1989. Al-Ghaith was appointed area manager for the UK and Ireland in 1991, then general manager for commercial operations for Europe and North America in 1993. In his current role, Al-Ghaith works closely with chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arizona in the US.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4 341 5555
Omar Jahameh
Position: CEO, RAK Airways
Biography: Omar Jahameh has been CEO of RAK Airways since January 2010. Before this, he was chief financial officer of the airline from 2008, the year the carrier suspended operations. RAK Airways was first established in 2006 and was relaunched in October 2010, having been suspended for more than a year from the end of 2008 due to the global economic downturn. Prior to his career at RAK Airways, Jahameh was head of compliance and control at Jordan’s Airport International Group between 2007 and 2008. Before that, he held a variety of managerial positions at Qatar Airways. Jahameh is planning to grow RAK Airways in its home base of Ras al-Khaimah, where tourism numbers are expected to increase. Jahameh has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Jordan University and an master’s degree from the American University in Dubai.
Contact Tel: (+971) 7 207 5000
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