New roles for senior UAE nationals at Etihad Aviation Group

Ahmed Al Qubaisi, who currently holds the position of Vice President Aero Political and Industry Affairs, will be promoted to Senior Vice President and take on responsibility for International Affairs and for Environmental Affairs. Ahmed joined Etihad Airways in 2015 as Vice President Alliances and Partnerships, before being promoted to his current role in 2016.

Hareb Al Muhairy is to become Senior Vice President, UAE and GCC Sales, responsible for driving sales revenues in the airline’s priority markets. He moves from his current position in Corporate and International Affairs. 

Amina Taher has been promoted to Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and will be responsible for leading corporate communications strategy for Etihad Aviation Group (EAG).  With this promotion, she becomes one of the group’s most senior female executives.

Finally, responsibility for the airline’s corporate social responsibility strategy will be moved under Dr. Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services. Dr. Nadia joined the Medical Centre at Etihad Airways in 2007 and is a leading Aviation Medical specialist in the region.  Under her leadership the Etihad Medical Centre has become adopted by the industry as best-in-class and the addition of corporate social responsibility is a natural extension of her Medical and Wellbeing portfolio.

H.E. Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Board of the Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Our business is committed to developing career opportunities for advancing UAE nationals. These four highly-talented leaders have all seized those opportunities to develop careers as senior executives within one of the UAE’s largest businesses.”

These new executive roles come two weeks after Etihad Airways’ team at Abu Dhabi International Airport welcomed 157 talented Emirati nationals from across the UAE, after they graduated from the Etihad UAE National Development Foundation Programme. 

Etihad Aviation Group employs more than 3,000 Emiratis and runs more than 20 programmes to attract, train and develop UAE nationals in areas such as engineering, flight operations, management and at the all-female Al Ain Contact Centre.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Prior to joining Etihad Airways, Ahmed Al Qubaisi spent six years at the Department of Transport, as Director International and Government Affairs, responsible for protecting and enhancing the aero-political interests of Abu Dhabi. His aviation career also includes three years with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) as Head of Capacity and Operations Planning and as project coordinator at SCADIA. Since joining in 2015, Mr. Qubaisi has performed a critical role in Etihad Airways’ international aviation regulatory affairs arena at a time when the industry is experiencing increasingly complex and challenging competition and regulation.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Portland State University in the United States.

Hareb Al Muhairy’s career at Etihad Airways has spanned both the Commercial and Corporate Affairs portfolios, holding the role of Vice President Sales UAE before moving to oversee Corporate and International Affairs in 2015. He previously held the position of Vice President Corporate Communications between 2009 and 2010.

Mr. Al Muhairy joined Etihad Airways in 2004 having studied political science and management at the UAE University in Al Ain. He also holds a Master Degree in Strategic and Security Studies gained in 2015 from the National Defense College. 

Amina Taher joined Etihad Airways’ Corporate Affairs department as Head of Corporate Communications in January 2014, from the Mubadala Development Company (MDC) where she held the position of Head of Social Development and Sponsorship. An experienced media professional, Ms. Taher has hosted a number of Etihad Airways’ global media conferences and more recently has been focused on providing corporate communications strategic and campaign support to the Etihad Airways executive leadership.

Ms. Taher holds both a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the London Business School and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University gained in 2015. She achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Media Studies with honours from the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai. 

Dr. Nadia Bastaki has made significant achievements during her decade with Etihad Airways. She was the first female aviation medicine specialist in the UAE appointed by the Abu Dhabi health authority and was also the first GCAA instructor and Medical Review Officer (MRO) for the region appointed by the GCAA. 

Under her leadership, the Medical Centre has received a number of awards, as well as recognition by the GCAA and both the FAA and CASA (American and Australian aviation authorities). Dr. Nadia herself has won several awards for her leadership role.

Dr. Nadia holds a Master degree in Occupational Medicine from Manchester University and a post graduate degree in aviation medicine from Kings College London. She recently completed a women’s director programme run by the Institute of Directors and Hawkamah.