A statement issued by Chris Goater, IATA’s Manager Corporate Communications, took us all by surprise.
Des Vertannes, IATA Global Head of Cargo will retire from his position after the association’s Annual General Meeting in June.
Des, who has held this position for the past couple of years, has apparently decided to step down in order to spend more time with his family.
In a statement he says, “this is not a decision I have taken easily. There are so many exciting challenges in air cargo, so many great projects we are working on, and so many fantastic people,
whom I am proud to regard as friends. It will be a huge wrench to step away from that. This is not quite goodbye: for the next two months I am still at the helm and I am dedicated to continuing
the work to strengthen this amazing industry.”
IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler stated: “I want to pay tribute to Des who has been an outstanding leader of IATA’s cargo team. Des joined us after a distinguished career in air freight
to drive our cargo agenda. His most recent act - to call for a 48 hour cut in air freight transit times by 2020 - was typical of his vision. I know that all in IATA and the wider air cargo world
will join me in thanking him for his great work, and wishing him a long and happy retirement.”
It will indeed by a hard job to find a suitable replacement for Des, who has put so much “fresh wind under IATA Cargo’s sails” during the past couple of years.
His initiative and visions for IATA’s future as well as his dedication to the job will be sorely missed.
However, he deserves a good send off and as Tony Tyler said a long and happy retirement.
Thanks Des for the past years!
All the best!
John Mc Donagh