Mr. Bisignani has served as Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since June 2002. During his tenure with IATA he has completely restructured the association to increase its relevance and speed in driving a broad agenda for industry change.
Since 2002 IATA has spearheaded an industry agenda to enhance safety, improve efficiency and focus governments on the long-term issues for industry viability - including liberalisation and a common-sense approach to issues such as the environment and taxation. As a result, two major IATA initiatives are re-shaping important parts of the industry. The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) is raising the bar on safety with the first global standard for airline operational safety management. And IATA's Simplifying the Business programme will use technology to improve customer convenience while eliminating US$6.5 billion in annual costs.
Mr. Bisignani's airline experience includes 5 years at the helm of Alitalia as CEO and Managing Director, during which time he also served on the IATA Executive Committee and was Chairman of the AEA (Association of European Airlines). Prior to joining IATA, he launched and directed Opodo - the first European airline-owned online travel agency. He has been a Member of Pratt & Whitney Advisory Board and Chairman of the global distribution services provider Galileo International.
During his business career, Mr. Bisignani has held various high-level responsibilities at the energy company ENI and the Italian industrial conglomerate IRI Group. He served as President of Tirrenia di Navigazione, the largest Italian ferry company and as CEO and Managing Director of SM Logistics, a group of logistics and freight forwarding companies, partially-owned by GE Capital.