dnata names new Chief Exec for Asia-Pacific
Dirk Goovaerts is dnata’s new Regional Chief Executive Officer for Asia-Pacific, the company announced today.
Goovaerts will oversee dnata’s catering, ground and cargo handling operations at 10 airports in Australia, the Philippines and Singapore, managing a workforce of 6,000 employees. He will be based in Singapore and report to Ross Marino, Senior Vice President for dnata’s International Airport Operations division.
Goovaerts joins dnata from Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS), where he held the position of Chief Operations Officer since 2016. Leading a team of over 12,000 staff through a period of liberalization in Saudi Arabia. He was responsible for transforming SGS to become the ground handler of choice in a new competitive environment, across 26 airports in the country. Previously Goovaerts held senior leadership roles at Menzies Aviation with the most recent being Senior Vice President, Europe, managing the company’s operations at more than 50 airports.
”We are pleased to have Dirk join our global management team to strengthen and expand our operations in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Ross Marino. “Dirk brings with him a strong mix of operational experience, technical breadth, leadership and passion for customer care. I’m sure dnata and our customers will benefit from Dirk’s broad experience which is well suited to our business in the region.”
“I am thrilled to be joining dnata, an industry leader which is globally renowned for its quality and safe services and customer-oriented approach,” said Goovaerts.“With the dedicated Asia-Pacific team we will make sure dnata continues to deliver the best possible services and achieve the highest safety and security standards in the region.”
