GMD 2025 Speakers

Willie Walsh became the eighth person to lead the International Air Transport Association (IATA) when he took on the role of Director General in April 2021.

Prior to joining IATA, Walsh spent his entire career in the airline industry. beginning as a cadet pilot with Aer Lingus in 1979 and rising to the position of Chief Executive at the airline in 2001. In 2005 he was appointed Chief Executive of British Airways (BA). He led BA through the 2008/09 global financial crisis, established a transatlantic joint business venture with Iberia, Finnair and American Airlines, and oversaw the 2011 merger of BA and Iberia under a newly established parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG). He was Chief Executive of IAG from its inception until September 2020.

Under Walsh’s leadership, IATA has focused on supporting the industry’s emergence from the COVID-19 crisis as well as aviation’s ambitious and historic commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Walsh has also advocated for infrastructure partners to avoid recouping their COVID losses from their customers including airlines and air travelers.

Walsh is deeply familiar with IATA, having also served on the IATA Board of Governors between 2005 to 2018, including serving as Chair (2016-2017). A citizen of Ireland, Walsh was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1961. Walsh holds a Master of Science and Business Administration from Trinity College, Dublin.

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Louise is the Head Customer Experience and Facilitation for the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In this role, Louise has responsibility for the IATA Passenger Facilitation Program which focuses primarily on the crucial areas of security, border protection, immigration and customs with the aim to provide an end-to-end customer experience that is secure, seamless and efficient.

Prior to joining IATA in 2019, Louise was in leadership positions in the New Zealand Public Service for 20 years and as such was the New Zealand representative on the International Civil Aviation Organization New Technology Working Group and lead the development of the technical specifications and international policy for the ICAO Digital Travel Credential.

Nick leads IATA’s work on safety, security and operations, including airports, fuel supply, passenger experience, cargo and ground handling. 

Before joining IATA in 2015, Nick was Vice President of Airports, Call Centers and Customer Relations for Air Canada. He built his career in Air Canada and its subsidiary Jazz, where he managed various aspects of airport operations, including Inflight, Flight Operations, Operations Control, and Maintenance. Nick brings with him a wealth of experience covering all facets airline operations, human resource management, labor and government relations.

He completed his studies in Political Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, and also holds the Master Black Belt Certification from Six Sigma.  

Tony is responsible for the association’s media relations, brand, digital communications and internal communications.

Prior to joining IATA in 1999, Tony was with Gavin Anderson and Company Japan from 1997-1999 where he served as the Associate Director, and All Nippon Airways (ANA) from 1992-1997 where he began his career in international communications.

Tony has lived in Canada, Japan, Singapore and Switzerland and is fluent in English and Japanese. He holds an Honors BA in East Asian Studies from McGill University, Montreal.

Stuart Fox leads IATA’s teams that are responsible for flight and technical operations as well as Air Traffic Management. Prior to joining IATA, Stuart headed up safety oversight teams for Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, as well as the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Stuart has more than 30 years’ experience in the management various aspects of airline and business jet operations including crew training, regulatory affairs, and line operations. He also holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Preeti Jain is Head, Net Zero Research Programs at the International Air Transport Association (IATA). She comes with 20+ years of rich global experience spreading across refining, petrochemicals and steel sector focused on energy transition and sustainability.

Dr. Jain was ‘Member’ of various high level national committees and industry forums to steer policies aimed at low carbon pathways. A Fulbright alumna by Department of Energy of the US, she is an ardent believer of enhancing women equity in energy and aviation sector.

Gabriel Marquie is the Head of Digital Identity at IATA, where he leads digital identity advocacy and oversees digital identity related developments, including global and regional initiatives such as the EU Digital Identity Wallet. This also includes the developments to enable a trusted open ecosystem of sellers and intermediaries for airlines' retailing.

This comes after spending the COVID-19 pandemic helping passengers and airlines navigate the travel health regulations by developing solutions leveraging decentralized digital identities.

Gabriel joined IATA in 2019, bringing extensive experience in airline IT transformation from his previous role as an IT migration Program Manager at Amadeus.

Gabriel has been a technology and flying enthusiast from the youngest age, which led him to obtain a Master of Science in Aircraft Design and set him on the course to join the airline industry.

When living in South America, he got a taste for the mountain wilderness; so when he is not online, you might find him exploring some remote areas of the Alps.

Marie joined IATA in 2022 as Chief Economist. In January 2023 Marie added responsibility for IATA’s Environment and Sustainability activities to her role.

Marie joined IATA from Lombard Odier where she was Head of Global Trends and Sustainability. Her 30-year professional life includes roles for both investment banks and private banks, including HSBC in London, Merrill Lynch in Paris, and Indosuez in Geneva. Outside of the financial sector Marie worked for IKEA, and she also founded and managed her own company in the equine industry.

Marie holds an MBA from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. She speaks Swedish, English, and French fluently.

Marie's full bio and more photos

Douglas is Life Cycle Evaluation Manager at IATA, focusing on LCA, sustainability and feedstocks. Prior to joining IATA, he worked in SAF policy for the UK Department for Transport. He holds a PhD in Low Carbon Technologies from the University of Leeds.

Thomas coordinates IATA’s global advocacy efforts since September 2025.

Before joining IATA, Thomas was at IBM as Vice President, Government and Regulatory Affairs for Europe, the Middle East and Africa from 2023.

Prior to IBM, Thomas was the founding Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E) and successfully ran A4E from 2016 to 2023.

His experience in aviation and technology extends to aerospace, having spent the seven years prior to joining A4E at United Technologies as President, International Operations Europe, with a focus on government affairs.

Julia Seiermann is the Head of Industry Analysis at IATA, where she leads a team dedicated to advancing insights on passenger and cargo traffic trends, forecasting, airline sector financial performance, and the impact of macroeconomic developments on aviation. She oversees the production of key industry publications, including the biannual Global Outlook for Air Transport, the Quarterly Chartbook, and Monthly Notes on passenger and cargo traffic.

Prior to joining IATA in 2025, Julia spent a decade working on international trade with the United Nations, notably at the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She managed large-scale projects such as the West African Competitiveness Observatory, designed innovative methodologies for trade analysis, and forged strategic partnerships to promote regional value chains. Her work included managing a diverse team, delivering capacity-building initiatives, and producing high-impact research for governments and private sector stakeholders.

Julia holds a PhD in Development Economics and a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Graduate Institute, Geneva. She is fluent in German, English, and French.

Thierry Stucker is Director Industry Payment Programs at IATA, focused on Modern Airline Retailing. He and his team play an essential role in supporting airlines as they transform distribution into a new Offers and Orders model.

Thierry joined IATA in 2004, where he managed large financial projects. This included business transformations such as the deployment of a treasury platform for the clearance of funds between travel agencies and airlines, representing one of the largest “SWIFT for Corporate” implementations worldwide.

Before joining IATA, he worked for eight years at Ernst & Young.

Brendan leads IATA’s cargo activities as the Global Head of Cargo.  Before taking on this role in July 2021 Brendan held a number of roles in IATA covering cargo operations, e-commerce and dangerous goods.

Prior to joining IATA in 2007, Brendan was at Air Canada managing various aspects of cargo operations, processes, and procedures. Passionate about air cargo, innovation, diversity and talent, Brendan also founded IATAs future air cargo executive FACE program and has a wealth of experience in logistics, operations, and people management.