Star Alliance, the world’s leading global airline alliance, firmed up its key management appointments aimed at further enhancing its strategic focus on a seamless experience for member airline customers as they benefit from the Star Alliance network.
Ambar Franco joins Star Alliance as Vice President, Customer Experience. Franco will lead the development and implementation of initiatives designed to enhance the overall customer journey across the alliance: their booking experience, the experience of customers at airports and when they connect between Star Alliance member airlines, and then to ensure their continuing loyalty post travel. She brings significant expertise from the travel industry, most recently having held senior customer experience related roles at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
Luc Lachoix is Star Alliance’s Vice President, Digital & Technology. Lachoix is responsible for IT architecture, operations, and security, as well as supporting the IT needs of Star Alliance’s Customer Experience and Loyalty business areas. He has served in various roles in the airline industry, including leadership positions at key travel technology companies including Amadeus and Sabre.
Renato Ramos is Vice President, Strategy. Ramos drives Star Alliance’s strategic initiatives, business planning, and cross-functional collaboration. Engaged at Star Alliance for the last seven years, he previously served as Director, Loyalty at Star Alliance. Renato is a seasoned aviation expert who has held previous roles at Avianca and LATAM Airlines.
Gayatheri Silvakumer serves as Vice President, People and Culture and leads the implementation of Star Alliance’s human capital and cultural development vision, focusing on talent retention and organisational development. She has held several senior HR roles across various industries, working with organisations such as McCann Worldgroup, Bombardier and Rolls-Royce.
“I am delighted to work with such a diverse leadership team. They bring their extensive experience from within and outside the aviation industry to fast-track our mission of delivering a seamless customer experience at key touch points in their travels,” said Theo Panagiotoulias, CEO of Star Alliance. Ambar, Luc, Renato, and Gayatheri, are each passionate about our vision and executing on it, always with our member airlines’ end-customer in mind.”
About Star Alliance
Established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance, the Star Alliance network was founded on a customer value proposition of global reach, worldwide recognition, and seamless service. Since its inception, it has offered the largest and most comprehensive airline network, with a strong emphasis on enhancing the customer experience throughout the entire Alliance journey.
The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United.
Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers 17,500 daily flights to over 1,150 airports in 189 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner Juneyao Airlines.
