Climate Change Conference

Robert joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2013 and holds the position of Assistant Director, Aviation Environment. IATA is the trade association representing more than 290 commercial airlines and he leads IATA’s work on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).  A key focus is to accelerate the global deployment of SAF while addressing policy, economic, sustainability and logistic challenges.  Robert serves as a member of the United Nations ICAO Fuels Task Group, with particular focus on how SAF will be recognized under CORSIA.  He is also a Director and Treasurer of the Round Table on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). Robert’s studies include a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and post graduate studies in Applied Finance.  In 2008 he earned a Master’s in Business Economics from the University of Queensland. 

Prior to joining IATA Robert was the Head Economist for Virgin Australia Airlines.  

 Sir Brian Burridge was appointed as Chief Executive of the Royal Aeronautical Society from 1 October 2018. Most recently an independent consultant, until 2016, Sir Brian spent 10 years with Leonardo, a top ten global high-tech manufacturer in the aerospace, defence and technology sectors, rising to the position of Senior Vice President. During that time, he chaired two of the Group’s businesses and held board positions in the trade association, ADS, and the Defence Growth Partnership where he also chaired its innovation hub.

Earlier, Sir Brian spent a full career as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF) holding a frontline command at every level in the Service, including the national joint command in the 2003 Iraq war. He also spent a number of years in the UK Ministry of Defence in policy posts and left the RAF in 2006 as Commander-in-Chief Strike Command. 

Sir Brian read physics and electronic engineering at Manchester University and holds an MBA from the Open University and two honorary doctorates. He was previously a research fellow in political science at King’s College London and is now a visiting professor at the University of Reading.

Jacqueline Castle is VP A380 UK Chief Engineer at Airbus. With more than 2 decades of aerospace experience she has previously led the implementation of cutting-edge wing technologies and aerodynamic innovations for the new fuel-efficient A330neo. Jacqueline is on the ADS Sustainable Aerospace Board. She is passionate about the need for decarbonisation and the Aerospace Sector's ambitions towards this goal.

Sean Doyle was appointed Chief Executive of British Airways in October 2020.

Sean first joined British Airways in 1998, where he began his career as a financial analyst. During his time at British Airways Sean held a number of senior roles including Finance Director BA Cargo, Head of Corporate Strategy and Executive Vice President British Airways Americas. In 2016 Sean was appointed to the airline’s executive Management Committee as Director of Network, Fleet & Alliances. As part of this role, Sean was accountable for network and fleet planning, airline partnerships and oversight of British Airways’ business units at London Gatwick and BA CityFlyer.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive of British Airways, Sean was Chief Executive of Aer Lingus from January 2019.

Sean is also a non-executive director of Comair Holdings SA and a graduate of University College Cork.

Michael Eberhardt, CFA, Director, is head of European and Global Sustainable Credit in BlackRock's Trading and Liquidity Strategies team in London.  He is responsible for credit and ESG analysis of European banks and investment grade corporate issuers.  Prior to joining BlackRock in 2017, Mr. Eberhardt was a senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service, where he was responsible for the credit ratings of UK and Swiss banks and securities firms. 

While at Moody's, he also rated money market funds and was co-author of Moody's methodologies on rating Clearinghouses and Money Market Funds. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Eberhardt was with Pacific Investment Management Company trading leveraged loans for the firm's European CLOs. 

Mr. Eberhardt earned at BA degree in economics and psychology from Claremont McKenna College, and an MBA degree from University of California at Berkeley. 

Adam, a physical geography graduate and Chartered Environmentalist, has spent over a decade working in sustainability roles across Manchester Airports Group (MAG) – including leading MAG to become the UK’s first carbon neutral airport group. Over the last 18 months, Adam developed MAG’s 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy: ‘Working together for a brighter future’ and coordinated MAG’s community-focussed response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adam is looking forward to delivering a sustainable recovery by leading the implementation of MAG’s CSR Strategy, corporate responsibility reporting and its approach to strategic environmental issues including noise, air quality and climate change.

Michael Gill is executive director of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), the only global association that represents all sectors of the air transport industry. Its mission is to promote aviation’s sustainable growth for the benefit of global society. He was appointed as Director, Aviation Environment of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in November 2013, with responsibility for developing and implementing IATA’s work in the environment field, particularly in the areas of climate change, noise, biofuel commercialisation and the IATA environmental assessment programme. Prior to that, he spent six years as senior legal counsel in IATA, supporting IATA’s external affairs portfolio. In that role, he led IATA’s delegation to three ICAO diplomatic conferences on airline regulatory and security issues. Before joining IATA in May 2007, Michael was an aviation lawyer in private practice at the Paris Bar, acting for airlines and their insurers. 

He holds law degrees from both King’s College, London and the Sorbonne University in Paris, as well as a Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh. He is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and an avocat in France.

Matt is Carbon Strategy Director for Heathrow, in a newly formed function which has brought together the airport’s business strategy and sustainability areas into a new “Carbon & Strategy Department”. He has been Sustainability & Environment Director at Heathrow for the last decade, leading the team that developed “Heathrow 2.0”, the airport’s award-winning leadership plan for sustainable growth. He played a key role in developing the new approach to expansion which was backed by the Airports Commission and parliament. He is a Council member and past Chair of Sustainable Aviation, the coalition of UK airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers and airports. He has represented the global airports industry in the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s working group on aviation and climate change, and Heathrow on the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. 

He is a trustee of the Hillingdon Community Trust, a past Vice-Chair of SERA, the Labour Environment Campaign, and a past trustee of Tourism Concern, which campaigns for ethical tourism, and of the Heathrow Community Fund. Matthew is a fluent French and Spanish speaker and has co-authored a book on corporate responsibility: ‘Big Business, Big Responsibilities. From villains to visionaries - how companies are tackling the world’s greatest challenges. 

Rob Gurney joined oneworld in October 2016 as its CEO, reporting to the alliance’s Governing Board, which comprises the CEOs of all its member airlines, and leading the alliance’s central team, which is based in New York. Since then, oneworld has undertaken a comprehensive transformation, building a digital platform to enable a range of transactions via member airline apps; launched a new membership programme, oneworld connect and onboarded inaugural member Fiji Airways; added a new full member, Royal Air Maroc and relaunched the oneworld brand.    

Prior to joining oneworld, Rob served in a number of senior leadership roles in British Airways, Qantas and Emirates.

Cait has been with AEF for over a decade and leads the organisation’s UK policy work and campaigns. She has given expert evidence to a number of parliamentary committees and national conferences on climate change, noise and air quality issues, particularly in relation to airport expansion. She also appears regularly in the media, with recent appearances on Sky, the BBC’s News channel, the Ten o’clock News, Radio 4’s Today Programme and – on the topic of carbon offsets – on BBC’s consumer programme Watchdog and Channel 4. AEF sits on a number of Government working groups including the Jet Zero Council.

Leigh is the Sustainable Fuels and Carbon manager for International Airlines Group (parent company for British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level.)  Leigh has worked on sustainable fuels policy and project development both in the UK and internationally. 

She holds an MSc in Corporate Environmental Management and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  

Geoff Hunt is Senior Vice President, Engineering & Technology at Pratt & Whitney, the company that introduced the Geared Turbofan™ engines to drive down the environmental impact of commercial aviation. Geoff leads Engineering & Technology, focused on designing and supporting Pratt & Whitney’s portfolio of engines, developing technical leadership, and advancing technologies to support the next generation of commercial and military engines. Hunt’s 35-year career at Rolls-Royce, Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney has included leading roles in the development of landmark products. 

A Fellow of the RAeS, Hunt earned a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Sheffield University, and an MBA from Boston University.

Ms. Jane Hupe is the Director responsible for the Environment programme at International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and serves as the Secretary of the ICAO Council’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP). Ms. Hupe has a vital role in providing leadership for ICAO’s efforts to define and promote policies and Standards for environmentally sustainable aviation, managing a portfolio that includes aircraft noise, local air quality, global climate, clean energy and sustainable aviation fuels, adaptation, circular economy and a global market-based measure for international aviation.

She currently leads the Organization’s efforts on aviation green recovery and innovation and the assessment of options for long term goals for CO2 emissions reduction.

Johan Lundgren joined easyJet in December 2017 as Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 30 years’ experience working in the travel industry, starting his career as a tour guide and occupying various roles in travel marketing and sales. Prior to joining easyJet, Johan was the Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Tourism at TUI AG. Prior to this Johan was the Managing Director for the Northern Region at TUI Travel plc from 2007 until 2011. From 2003 until 2007, he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TUI Nordic. Johan led MyTravel’s businesses out of Canada and Sweden between 1999 and 2003, prior to which he was Managing Director of Always Tour Operations from 1996.

Geoff has worked in the aviation sector for over 20 years, undertaking a wide range of aviation related commissions, many of an environmental nature. Educated at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and gaining an honours degree in Natural Sciences, Geoff has held leading senior positions in both the private and public sectors. Initially joining British Rail as a graduate trainee, he held a series of operating and commercial posts, including Director London Rail Development, where he was actively involved in the planning of improved rail links to London’s airports. Subsequently he joined an aviation consultancy business, working on many major projects including Heathrow’s T5, the Olympic Terminal in Beijing, and a new airport for Swaziland.

For the last 11 years he has been Managing Director and co-owner of Altra Capital Ltd, a specialist Management Consultancy company focusing on providing bespoke management advice, especially in the transport and financial sectors. He was elected Chair of Greener by Design in 2014, having previously chaired the operations group.

He was a member of the joint Cambridge University/MIT project to design a silent (<57dBA) aircraft, and is also a visiting lecturer at Brunel University, giving a series of lectures every year since 2005 on current aviation environmental issues for the Aviation MSc module,.

He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a member of their Aviation Policy Group and a Fellow of the RSA.

Kirstin McCarthy is the Head of Sustainability at Birmingham Airport.  She is responsible for leading and developing the Airport Company's Sustainability strategy providing technical expertise and leadership on aspects of sustainability including aircraft noise, air quality, climate change and its corporate responsibility programme, including community engagement and airspace change.  Kirstin has over 19 years’ experience of the management of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at the Airport.

As Head of Environmental Technology for Rolls-Royce Plc, Adam guides annual investment of circa £800m to deliver improved environmental performance across the group’s aerospace and non-aero products and services. He has held a variety of senior technical and business roles in Rolls-Royce including Head of Innovation and Chief of Low Carbon Technology.

He was also part of the team that established and led the Energy Technologies Institutes (ETI) £600m public-private sector collaboration. Prior to joining Rolls-Royce, he was a partner at multi-disciplinary consultancy Mott MacDonald where he worked on major energy and transportation projects in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.

In addition to his technical background, he holds an MBA from Imperial College and a Finance degree from Rotterdam School of Management (RSM).

Sean Newsum is director of Sustainability Strategy at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In this role, he leads a team that addresses key industry-wide environmental issues, including aircraft emissions and community noise reduction, sustainable fuel development, and other opportunities to enhance commercial aviation’s environmental performance. 

Sean is also responsible for developing an integrated strategy to ensure that products and services are aligned with the company’s environmental objectives. This involves representing Boeing with key industry bodies, including the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection and as a member of the Air Transport Action Group board of directors.  

Tom is responsible for Air bp’s low carbon strategy, and the sourcing and supply of sustainable aviation fuel. Since joining bp as a research chemist in 2008, Tom has held business development and strategy roles in technology licensing, bp’s Fuels businesses and in Downstream commercial development. He also led bp’s Advanced Bio Products team at its inception before joining Air bp in 2017. Tom holds a Master’s degree and D.Phil in Chemistry from the University of Oxford.

Brian Pearce is IATA’s Chief Economist.  The role of his team is to analyse the economic and policy landscape facing the airline industry, to provide credible economic analysis to guide and support IATA’s advocacy work. An economist with over 35 years of international experience in several industries, he is also a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University’s Department of Air Transport and a member of IATA’s senior leadership team.  He has been on panels of expert advisers for the UK Airports Commission, the UK Department for Transport and ICAO. 

He was formerly director of the Centre for Sustainable Investment at the think-tank Forum for the Future, head of global economic research at the investment bank SBC Warburg in Tokyo and then London, and was Chief Economist at Ernst & Young’s economic forecasting consultancy.

The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP was appointed Secretary of State for Transport on 24 July 2019. He has previously held a number of ministerial positions and was Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was elected the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield in 2005.

He holds a private pilot’s license and was formerly the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on General Aviation.

Colin Smith retired as Group President Rolls-Royce in May 2017. 

Colin was a member of the Board of Rolls-Royce as Director of Engineering and Technology from 2005 to 2016. Prior to this role, he was the Director of Research & Technology for the company, building on his previous experience as Director of Engineering & Technology for Civil Aerospace. He joined the company as an undergraduate apprentice before graduating from Southampton University.

In June 2012 Colin was awarded a CBE for services to UK engineering. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, The Royal Aeronautical Society and The Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was the recipient of a Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal in 2002.

Colin has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the Universities of Derby, Loughborough, Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton and Strathclyde.   

He is Chairman of UK Industry Aerospace Growth Partnership, a former member of the UK Council for Science and Technology, President of ADS (the Industry trade body for Aerospace, Defence and Security) and Pro-Chancellor of University of Southampton.

Rachel has been the Head of Low Carbon Fuels at DfT since the start of 2018. Prior to that her career has spanned climate and environment policy across the civil service, private and third sectors.

Chris Stark is Chief Executive of the UK Committee on Climate Change, the independent advisors to government on tackling climate change. Chris led the Committee’s work in 2019 to recommend a new ‘Net Zero’ target for the UK – now brought into law. He speaks regularly on the transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Bryan joined Royal Dutch Shell in 1996 after a short stint in the Aerospace Division at the UK Department of Trade & Industry where he was involved with the UNEP/ICAO program looking at new emissions standards for civil aviation and developing long-term market demand forecasts.      

Prior to his current role in Shell Aviation, Bryan spent 18 years in Shell Trading including 7 years as senior jet trader in both Houston and Dubai. He has also worked in gasoline and crude oil trading in Singapore and London, respectively. As senior fuels trader he worked closely with many of Shell’s airline customers and has been involved in most of our supply chain operations across the globe.     

During his time in Shell Aviation, Bryan was responsible for setting-up Shell’s first Sustainable Aviation Fuel supply chain and the low carbon strategy for the organisation. In addition to managing the aviation sustainability activities in Shell, Bryan was also instrumental in establishing the price risk and pricing teams that sit under his portfolio of current activity.

Rachel began her career in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, where she worked on global trade and environment negotiations. She leads Gatwick’s Decade of Change sustainability strategy and reporting. She is a member of Gatwick’s Managing Corporate Responsibility Committee and chairs the Decade of Change delivery group. Rachel joined Gatwick in 2015, after a decade in sustainability roles with a focus on technology, transport, and retail sectors.  

Simon Weeks is Chief Technology Officer for the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), accountable for technical direction of the UK’s national aerospace technology programme. Previously, Simon worked for Rolls-Royce, most recently as Global Head of Aerospace Research & Technology. Before this Simon held other senior technical leadership roles in Rolls-Royce including Technical Director for Eurojet in Munich, leading the development of the EJ200 engine for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

Simon is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the RAeS and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.