James Hogan, the outgoing president and chief executive of the Etihad Aviation Group, has been listed as a recipient in the British Queen’s birthday honours list.
According to a list published on the website of the governor-general of the commonwealth of Australia, Mr Hogan has been given the Order of Australia for services to the aviation industry and the development of tourism and trade links between Australia and the Arabian Gulf states.
The Australian joined Etihad Airways as its chief executive in 2006 and led the airline into a series of code shares and seven minority investments in other carriers, including Air Berlin and Alitalia, to stimulate the growth of its network and passenger numbers. This helped to transform it from a US$300 million a year airline into a diversified aviation and tourism group, together with its airline equity partners, that generates revenues of more than $26 billion. He moved to his current role just over a year ago and in January Etihad confirmed he would leave the group in the second half of this year.
Mr Hogan ran the Bahrain carrier Gulf Air for four years before joining Etihad. He started his career in the aviation sector at Ansett Airlines and subsequently held senior positions with British Midland International, Hertz and Forte Hotels.
"One of the most important drivers of economic prosperity for Australia is its ability to connect to the rest of the world. I am proud to have played a part in building those bridges. I am grateful for this recognition of that work," Mr Hogan said in a statement provided to The National.
malrawi@thenational.ae
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