Gulf Air has appointed Danny Barranger to head up a restructured worldwide sales team for the airline. The first initiative to be implemented is a redefinition of Gulf Air’s world market, which is to be divided into four major regions, each presided over by a regional general manager (RGM), reporting to the head of sales.
“The regions have been broken down still further so that we can address the markets more precisely,” explained John Butler, vice president marketing and sales. “The people appointed to the newly created regional management positions each have in-depth knowledge and experience in their respective markets.”
Ali Murtada, presently the airline’s regional manager Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East, takes on the position as RGM for the growing market in Asia Pacific, overseeing Gulf Air’s sales activities in the ISC, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
Mahfood Al-Harthy, presently the general manager of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been promoted to RGM for the new region, which includes Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar. Abdulmalik Al-Saei, previously general manager for Bahrain, is also promoted to RGM with responsibility for the Middle East. As result of this change, Abdul Qanati has been promoted and replaces Al-Saei as general manager for Bahrain.
Robin Middleton will continue to have responsibility for Europe and Africa and the Americas. “As our network grows, it will be important that we retain close links to our markets and our customers,” said Butler. “The revised sales management structure will achieve this objective and assist us in meeting the challenges and further developing the particular opportunities of each market in which we operate.”
Gulf Air was founded in 1950. Today, it is owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The airline’s network stretches from Europe to Asia and covers 45 cities in 33 countries. The fleet is one of the most modern in the Middle East and comprises 33 aircraft. The airline is in the first year of a three-year strategic recovery program. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
