Mark Schwab named new Star Alliance chief
Star Alliance's executive board has appointed Mark Schwab as the new chief executive.
Schwab comes from Star Alliance member United Airlines. In this capacity he also served as a member of Star Alliance’s Management Board. He succeeds Jaan Albrecht, who was appointed as CEO of Austrian Airlines on November 1, 2011, the global airline network said in a statement.
“With Mark Schwab we have secured an internationally renowned airline executive, who has all the qualifications required to lead our alliance into the next chapter of its success story,” said Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand and Chairman of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board.
Mark Schwab held numerous executive positions in the airline industry at United Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines. He began his aviation career in 1975 with Pan American World Airways in Rio de Janeiro.
As a global citizen he spent most of his career outside his home country, the United States of America. Schwab headed organisations in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Being fluent in Portuguese and in Spanish language he holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American affairs from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
