Virgin Atlantic announces updates to leadership team
Virgin Atlantic unveils changes to leadership lineup
Virgin Atlantic has announced updates to its leadership team line up, including Suzanne Roddie as Chief Operating Officer, Juha Jaervinen as Chief Customer Officer, Becky Woodmansee as Chief People Officer and Dave Geer as Chief Commercial Officer.
- Suzanne Roddie – Chief Operating Officer: Following promotion to Chief Operating Officer, Roddie oversees the safety, efficiency and excellence of Virgin Atlantic’s entire flying and ground operation, including Flight Operations, Engineering & Maintenance, Airports, Network Operations, Crew Logistics, Safety & Security, Business Continuity and Facilities. Previously Vice President Airports, Network Operations & Clubhouses, Roddie has a strong record leading large-scale operational teams and played a key role restarting and growing the airline’s operation following the pandemic, delivering strong operational resilience, reaching leading on-time performance and elevating passenger experience.
- Juha Jaervinen – Chief Customer Officer: A long-standing customer champion, as Chief Customer Officer, Jaervinen leads the design and delivery of Virgin Atlantic’s renowned customer experience. His remit includes Brand & Marketing, Loyalty, Communications, Customer Experience Design & Journeys, Cabin & Inflight Services, Customer Centre and Clubhouses. Jaervinen previously led Virgin Atlantic’s Commercial function as Chief Commercial Officer for seven years. Prior to joining the airline, he held several senior roles at Finnair and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
- Becky Woodmansee – Chief People Officer: Having joined Virgin Atlantic 15 months ago, as Chief People Officer, Woodmansee oversees all elements of the airline’s people strategy at the heart of what makes Virgin Atlantic special, covering Reward, People Operations, Talent, Partnering & Performance, Employee Relations and Industrial Relations. Previously, Woodmansee was People Director, Premier Inn & Restaurants at Whitbread plc, responsible for the happiness and welfare of 37,000 employees across UK hotel business Premier Inn and its restaurant brands.
- Dave Geer – Chief Commercial Officer: Geer leads Virgin Atlantic’s Commercial function as Chief Commercial Officer, following promotion from his role as Senior Vice President, Operations. Dave will drive quality revenue growth across Sales, Network, Revenue Management, E-Commerce, Ancillaries, and the Transatlantic Joint Venture with Delta and Air France KLM. His accountability also includes Virgin Atlantic Holidays and Virgin Atlantic Cargo. Besides five years of operational leadership experience, Geer has extensive commercial experience, from roles as Managing Director Virgin Holidays, and SVP Revenue Management & Distribution, leading Revenue Management, Product, Business Development, Pricing and Distribution Strategy, and Digital Transformation.
- Ansar Hussain – Chief Financial Officer (Interim): Hussain, previously Vice President Corporate Finance, has taken on responsibility for Corporate Finance, Financial Planning, Finance Operations, Procurement, Fleet and Internal Audit as Chief Financial Officer on an interim basis. Hussain has been fundamental to rebuilding Virgin Atlantic’s financial position post-pandemic, including the successful recapitalisation of the business and a $745 million financing transaction of Virgin Atlantic’s slot portfolio at London Heathrow. With a 15-year career in finance, he trained as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte, supporting clients across a range of industries in both an advisory and compliance capacity.
- Holly Boyd-Boland – Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Legal Affairs: As Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Legal Affairs, Boyd-Boland expands her remit to include Legal Affairs and the Company Secretariat, alongside Corporate Strategy, Government Affairs, Sustainability and Community. Boyd-Boland has extensive legal experience, having joined Virgin Atlantic from law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, where she specialised in competition and regulatory law. Boyd-Boland built significant experience as the VP responsible for airline strategy and sustainability and has played a key role over the pandemic and beyond as Chief of Staff to the CEO.
- Chief Digital & Information Officer – Recruitment Underway: Virgin Atlantic is bringing together Technology, Digital Development, Data, Artificial Intelligence and Transformation under a new Chief Digital & Information Officer role to accelerate innovation and alignment across the business. Recruitment is underway.
Corneel Koster, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said, “I’m incredibly proud and energised to be leading Virgin Atlantic into its next chapter. This airline has always been defined by its people — their red spirit, professionalism and unwavering care for our customers and for one another. I’m confident this leadership team brings together the experience, leadership qualities, innovative thinking and collaborative mindset needed to build a strong and exciting future for the airline we all love.”
