Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina is one of the most recognisable faces in sport. For six consecutive years he was voted Best Referee in the World and is considered the best referee ever.
An economics graduate of Bologna University and a former financial advisor by profession, Collina enrolled on a refereeing course when he was 17 and made his debut in Serie A in 1991. He went on to officiate over 240 Serie A games and more than 100 international matches. Chosen to join the elite FIFA referee list he oversaw several memorable and high profile games - from the 1996 Olympic Games final to the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final.
Pierluigi’s natural authority, sense of fair play and striking presence made him an iconic figure in football and sport more widely, being uniquely respected by players, fans, coaches, officials and commentators alike.
After his retirement in 2005, he chaired the Italian Serie A referees until 2010 when he was appointed as UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer. In 2017 he joined FIFA and he currently serves as Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee , with responsibility for refereeing in FIFA competitions and for its development worldwide.
Shaunelle Harris Drake
IATA
Shaunelle has over 20 years of experience in the airline industry and currently leads the Implementation Stream in the Distribution Department at IATA. She is responsible foridentifying accelerators for airline retailing adoption and runs the engagement program to help airlines advance in their retailing journey.
For the past six years, Shaunelle has led the Airline Retailing Implementation Forum that brings together implementers across the value chain to share best practices and lessons learned from live deployments. She also focuses on initiatives that assist airlines at the beginning of their retailing transformation, ensuring they keep the industry’s end vision in mind.
Shaunelle leads the Global Travel Executive Council (GTEC), comprising 15 TMC executives who engage strategically on modernizing airline retailing and TMC adoption. Additionally, she heads the Travel Manager Advisory Group (TMAG), which includes around 30 corporate buyers who stay attuned to industry changes.
As a founding member of the NDC team at IATA, Shaunelle was instrumental in the evolution from standard development and early pilots to full-scale deployments involving many industry stakeholders. Before joining IATA, she worked at Air Jamaica for nine years in airline IT, delivering large-scale transformation projects, including a PSS migration.
Tanes Kumar
CEO/CCO
Myanmar Airways International (MAI) & Mingalar
Tanes Kumar embarked on his journey with Myanmar Airways International (MAI) & Mingalar (formerly Air KBZ) on 01 Jan 2019, assuming the role of Commercial Director, followed by redesignation to the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on 01 Jun 2020. In this capacity, he orchestrated the commercial aspects pivotal to both carriers' turnaround and growth strategies.
Recognizing his significant contribution in navigating the carriers through challenging business times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability in the country, Tanes was promoted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective 01 Dec 2023 while continuing his role as CCO, further demonstrating his leadership acumen and versatility.
With over a decade of expertise in strategic planning within major regional airline groups, Tanes has honed his skills with notable airlines in the region. His strategic planning has driven business expansion and turnaround initiatives as part of AirAsia's Group Business Development team, focusing on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He also served as Head of Distribution & Commercial Strategy at Malindo, a subsidiary of Lion Air Group.
Since joining MAI & Mingalar, Tanes has been instrumental in fostering synergies amidst ongoing mergers between carriers, supporting aggressive growth and recording positive levels across the board: significant international network expansion from 4 destinations in 2019 to 17 destinations in 2024, revenue increasing by 3.5x and expansion into dedicated freighter services. Currently, MAI & Mingalar command approximately 50% passenger share & 45% cargo share, despite the tough challenges faced by the Myanmar aviation market.
As a testament to his talent and leadership, Tanes was listed as one of the Airline Economics 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 and featured in CEO Insights Asia Top 10 Chief Commercial Officers in Malaysia—2024. These accolades underscore his professional achievements and the industry's confidence in his abilities.
Ceren Oğuz, MSc
General Manager, Quavis GmbH
Ceren Oğuz is the General Manager of Quavis GmbH and holds a Master’s degree in Aviation Management from Technische Hochschule Wildau, Germany, and a Bachelor’s degree in Labour Economics and Industrial Relations from Akdeniz University. With expertise in aviation and business management, Ceren has conducted research on GDPR applications for SMEs in Türkiye and the operational impacts of self-service automation systems.
İpek Ceren Uçan Tuhan
Environmental Engineer - Pegasus Airlines
İpek Ceren Uçan Tuhan serves as environmental engineer for Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı A.Ş. (Pegasus Airlines) as a member of the Sustainability & Environment Team. She has been with Pegasus Airlines since 2022, and previously had experience on sustainability consultancy and corporate environmental work in different companies. Ipek acts as the coordinator of multi-disciplinary Pegasus Airlines ESG Net Zero Working Group, responsible for implementing the Board Strategy on climate transition, alternative fuels deployment and CORSIA offsetting. Her work in the Sustainability & Environment Department includes emissions monitoring, reporting and verification, environmental compliance, waste management, and environmental and sustainability reporting. Ipek obtained her bachelor’s degree on Environmental Engineering and subsequently completed the master’s program in Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Management at the Istanbul Technical University. She is a Class C Occupational Health and Safety Engineer, ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas Calculation Expert and holds certification on Integrated Management Systems Awareness and Internal Audit regarding ISO 9001:2015, 14001:2015, 45001:2018.
Isil Aras Hird
EUROCONTROL
After working as a systems analyst on Turkish Airlines passenger systems, Isil joined EUROCONTROL in 1992 as a software engineer and worked in Karlsruhe (Germany) and Maastricht (Netherlands) Upper Area Control Centres in the development and maintenance of safety-critical Air Traffic Control systems.
In 2001, she moved from the air traffic control (ATC) world to the air traffic management (ATM) world by joining the EUROCONTROL Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) in Brussels. With her prior airline & ATC background, she contributed to the successful evolution of the Central Flow Management Unit into the pivotal “Network Manager Operations Centre” (NMOC), where the air traffic operations of 41 EUROCONTROL Member States is centrally coordinated and optimized.
Since 2016, Isil has been working for the EUROCONTROL Finance Directorate and is currently responsible for the Central Route Charges Office’s digital transformation programme.
Isil studied computer programming at Bosporus University, Istanbul.
Server Aydın
Chief Digital Services and Commercial Officer, iGA
Mr. Aydın has over 23 years of experience in the aviation industry, holding key leadership roles across several prominent organizations. He began his career as Marketing Manager at Fraport Antalya Airport (2001-2004) and held various senior positions at Turkish Airlines, including Global Vice President of Ground Operations and Regional Director for Africa and Western Europe (2004-2008). He later served as Chief Commercial Officer at Sabiha Gökçen Airport (2008-2012) and Managing Director of SunExpress Airlines in Germany (2012-2016), followed by roles at Royal Jordanian Airlines and Ayla Oasis Development Company. From 2021 to 2023, he was Regional Director of Operations at Plaza Premium Group before becoming General Manager at Abu Dhabi Airport. Mr. Aydın holds a double major in marketing and business from Deakin University and an MBA from Maltepe University, completed in 2023.
Sandrine de Saint Sauveur
President & CEO, APG Airlines
de Saint Sauveur has been employed by APG since 1993, having worked in all passenger departments of APG in charge of developing sales in both the French and European markets together with the APG Network. From 1999, she developed the IBCS-IATA product, running over 800 contracts around the world. In 2003 she became President & CEO of APG Distribution System, a full subsidiary of APG, and in 2007 she took over APG France and became President & CEO.
In 2011, de Saint Sauveur incorporated APG Global Associates Network into APG Inc. She now acts as President of APG Inc. APG Group is the leading company in commercial and distribution services. Through 100+ worldwide offices, APG covers over 170 countries across all continents with unrivalled links with the travel industry in each market.
de Saint Sauveur was promoted to the rank of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2015 at the request of the Minister of the Economy, Emmanuel Macron.
In 2016, APG Airlines, a French scheduled airline was created: de Saint Sauveur was appointed President & CEO.
From 2017–2020 she was part of the UATP Board (Universal Air Travel Plan, headquartered in Washington DC) and since 2018 has been a member of the ERA Board.
de Saint Sauveur gives conferences in some commercial high schools and in particular the ENAC in Toulouse (Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile) and is an active member of the IWF (International Women Forum Network).
de Saint Sauveur graduated from San Diego State University in Finance.
Mahir Sahin
IATA
Mahir Sahin is the Assistant Director of Timatic at International Air Transport Association (IATA). With over a decade of experience in the aviation industry, Mahir has been instrumental in enhancing global travel facilitation through his expertise in travel documentation and border control regulations. At IATA, he leads a dedicated team responsible for automating travel document compliance, ensuring that airlines and passengers have access to accurate and up-to-date travel information. Mahir’s commitment to innovation and efficiency has significantly contributed to the seamless travel experience for millions of passengers worldwide. Outside of his professional role, Mahir is passionate about exploring new technologies, and initiatives, and their potential to transform the travel industry.
Nausherwan Adil
Chief Commercial Officer, Pakistan International Airlines
Nausherwan Adil currently serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), where he plays a pivotal role in shaping the airline's commercial strategy and fostering global partnerships. With over two decades of experience in the aviation industry, Nausherwan has successfully spearheaded initiatives to enhance PIA’s international footprint through strategic interline agreements and codeshare partnerships.
A driving force behind the airline’s collaborative ventures, such as the recent codeshare relaunch with Etihad Airways, Nausherwan is dedicated to creating seamless connectivity for passengers, expanding PIA's reach across key global markets. His leadership is instrumental in building bridges between regional and global airlines, enabling greater operational efficiencies and customer convenience.
His expertise and vision in commercial aviation make him an influential voice in the discussion on interline agreements and their role in strengthening aviation networks.
Ozlem Salihoglu
SVP, International Relations & Alliances, Turkish Airlines
Ozlem Salihoglu- SVP, International Relations & Alliances, Turkish Airlines
Özlem SALIHOĞLU is the Senior Vice President, International Relations & Alliances at Turkish Airlines with over 25 years experience within the airline industry. She is responsible for airline partnerships, alliance coordination, industry affairs and airline association relations.
Özlem started her career at Turkish Airlines as an engineer in Route Management department in 1994. During the period 1996 -1998, she worked in London as Marketing Executive and then as General Manager in South Korea.
Beginning of 1999, based in Head Office she spent 11 years in marketing & sales department as VP Sales, managing different regions respectively; Türkiye, Europe, Middle East&Cyprus to improve sales/marketing activities and increase revenues. Between 2010 – 2012, she conducted the role of SVP, Business Development and Agreements leading the Loyalty program and CRM project together with the airline partnerships and government affairs at Turkish Airlines.
Since 2012, she works as SVP, International Relations & Alliances at Turkish Airlines and manages mainly airline partnerships, alliance membership, industry affairs. She also coordinates with her team IATA , AIRE, AACO , ALTA and other airline association relations within Turkish Airlines and currently represents TK at the IATA Industry Affairs Advisory Council. Moreover, she is the Vice President of the Brussels based AIRE Asssociation (Airlines International Representation in Europe) since February 2023; the association working for a sustainable and competitive aviation echosystem that`s aligned with EU policies and regulations.
Özlem holds a Bachelor of Science (Industrial Engineering) degree from Boğaziçi University, İstanbul. She is married with 1 child.
Refik Emre Erdem
Alternative Sales Channels Leader, Pegasus Airlines
Passionate leader in Airline industry. Broad experience in GDSs, OTAs and Airline Commercial Management. Currently serves as Alternative Sales Channels Leader in Pegasus Airlines. Professional Journey in the airline industry has been characterized by a diverse range of experiences. Prior to this role, worked at Amadeus, Amex GBT, Lufthansa Group and Çelebi Aviation.
