Swissport, a leading aviation services company, has made two key changes to its executive team.
Karen Cox, formerly global director of operations and safety and co-head of UK and Ireland, assumes the role of CEO for the group’s UK and Ireland region. Andres Diez, director of global commercial, becomes new chief commercial officer for the Americas, taking on the task of driving top-line business growth and improving profitability across the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Both appointments became effective on April 1, 2023.
“Karen and Andres have both made significant contributions to Swissport since joining the company in 2021,” says Warwick Brady, president and CEO of Swissport International AG. “As we put all our energy into taking the company to the next level of global service excellence, we also want to further commercialize our offering across countries and regions, especially for airlines operating worldwide. With Karen and Andres, we had top candidates from within our own ranks who have the skills and experience to help drive the business forward on this path.”
Cox will report to Brady. As she takes up her new role as CEO of Swissport’s UK and Ireland region, she is stepping down as director of global operations and safety. This post will be taken over ad interim by Richard Male, global VP for ground handling. Cox joined Swissport in October 2021. She has been driving the implementation of more consistent operations and safety practices and more robust processes across Swissport’s global organization.
In September 2022, Cox additionally took on the role as co-head UK and Ireland to drive operational excellence and prepare the regional organization for the post-pandemic travel peaks. Prior to joining Swissport, Cox was with easyJet for 18 years, most recently as director of ground operations and customer management centers.
Diez reports to Frank Mena, CEO of Swissport’s US and Canada region, and to Rene Pascua, CEO of Latin America and the Caribbean. Diez joined Swissport as director of global commercial in September of 2021. Until a successor has been appointed, he will also continue to serve Swissport in this capacity.
Diez has established Swissport’s new, globally aligned commercial processes along with tools to accelerate business wins and increase the retention rate of existing business. In addition, he was instrumental in deploying the company’s key account management program. In his new role as chief commercial officer Americas, Diez, who is of US and Spanish-Venezuelan background, will focus on further strengthening the US and Canada business as well as Latin America and the Caribbean — two key regions, which together account for some 40 percent of Swissport’s global business.
Diez has more than 20 years of experience in business development and financial planning and has worked for major logistics organizations such as DHL and most recently GXO Logistics.
