Appointments and promotions at Star Alliance, Direct Travel, Hubli, Rosewood Hotel Group, BTP Automation and IATA >>
Star Alliance has named Theo Panagiotoulias as CEO, bringing more than 25 years of international experience in aviation. He joins the group from Hawaiian Airlines, where he had been senior vice president for global sales and alliances since 2014. Previously, Panagiotoulias was vice president and general manager (Asia-Pacific) for Sabre Corporation. He also spent 15 years with American Airlines.
Direct Travel has named Jami Hedrick as senior vice president, account management. She has over 20 years of experience in account management and operations in corporate travel at Travel and Transport and CTM.
Hubli, a simple meetings and group lodging platform, has named Shane Berry as US strategic advisor. In his new role, according to an announcement, he will assist the leadership team in Dublin and CEO Ciaran Delaney in their North American expansion and growth plans. Berry spent over 29 years with American Express, most recently as senior vice president/general manager for the Global Client Group, Global Corporate Payments before joining Mint House, a lodging start-up, as chief customer officer.
Rosewood Hotel Group has named Kevin Yung as CFO. For the last two years, he has led Rosewood Capital Ventures in the role of managing partner. During this time, Yung also served as a strategic advisor to Rosewood Hotel Group, offering guidance and support across multiple areas of the business. Prior to joining Rosewood, Yung held several senior positions within the realms of finance and investment, including as CEO of Chow Tai Fook Education Group (CTFEG) in Hong Kong.
BTP Automation, a hotel sourcing provider, has named Mark Hooper as vice president of product and engineering and Jennifer Acreman as senior director of customer success. Hooper has over 30 years of technology experience and has held executive roles with Dinova, GroundLink, Travelocity and Sabre. He was most recently director of technology at Cru, a faith-based organization. Acreman has been serving as director of channel sales at Deem, the latest role in her 20-year career with Dem’s parent company, Travelport.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo has assumed her duties as chair of the IATA Board of Governors for a one-year term, effective from the conclusion of the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting in Istanbul on June 5. She is the 81st chair of the board and the first woman in the role. Makolo began her aviation career with RwandAir in 2017 and was named CEO of the airline in 2018. Prior to that, she spent 11 years with MTN Rwanda, a telecommunications company.
