» Top Team
Adel Ali - Chief Executive Officer
Donald Hubbard - Director Special Projects
Captain Mohamed Ahmed - Director of Operations
Ali Al Hamdany - Director of IT and Corporate Projects
Paul Suckling - Director of Finance and Administration
A.K. Nizar - Head of Sales and Distribution
Harish Moideen Kutty - Head of Planning & Revenue Management
Rachel Abraham - Head of Human Resources
Adel Ali
Chief Executive Officer
Adel Ali, together with the founder team, is credited with creating the Middle East and North Africa ’s first low-fares airline, air arabia , which began operations in October 2003. He brings with him over 25 years of strategic experience in aviation, tourism and marketing. Adel’s distinctive leadership style, vision, skilful management of any situation or person combined with his charisma and zeal, make him an inspiration to his team and have made air arabia a pioneering success.
He previously served as Vice President Commercial and Customer Service for Gulf Air, where he played a central role in the airline’s recovery. He also held senior management positions with British Airways, including General Manager Middle East and Africa.
In addition, Adel served as a Director and Senior Board Member for a number of companies in Middle East and Europe. He has been recognised within the industry as a Middle East airline expert and has received a number of awards for his contribution to air transport and tourism in the Middle East and Africa.
Donald Hubbard
Director Special Projects
Donald, an Irish national, has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and now the United Arab Emirates . Part of the start up team, his strategic thinking combined with a hands-on approach and well-known enthusiasm and team spirit ensures he is an asset in himself.
He is a Chartered Accountant whose invaluable international experience and know-how has been gained at a broad range of organisations such as ZSR Limited (Sugar Refiners), Deloitte & Touche, AECI Ltd, Hong Kong Telecom Ltd, Jardine Securicor Group (Physical Security) and SSI Systems & Solutions Limited (Software Developers).
Prior to his current role Donald was air arabia’s Director Finance from start-up in August 2003 to June 2006. He is now responsible for managing strategic business opportunities and initiatives, long range planning & overall business strategy, corporate governance and group intelligence. Prior to joining air arabia, Donald held various senior financial positions in the Telecom, IT and Physical Security sectors. Besides his technical accounting ability Donald has proven specialist skills in developing and enhancing business support infrastructure, and implementing information and knowledge management systems which enable improved communication as well as productivity; a key element to the success of any business.
Captain Mohamed Ahmed
Director of Operations
Captain Mohammed joined air arabia in 2003 as Chief Pilot and as an integral part of the start up team, assisted in obtaining the Air Operator Certificate for the airline. He moved up rapidly to his present role as Director of Operations, overseeing the flight and ground operations, the A320 fleet, training and the crew.
His courage and enthusiasm in the face of any situation, attention to detail and approachable style has made him a much admired member of the management team.
Captain Mohamed started his flying career as a B737 First Officer in 1989 after graduating from Oxford Air Training School with a Commercial Pilot License. Soon he moved to the Boeing 767 and then the Airbus A320 and A340. He graduated his way to Captain on the A320’s in 1995, A320 Training Captain in 1997, Designated Examiner in 1998 and Chief Pilot with Gulf Air in 2001. He also draws experience from a wide range of management courses in teamwork, strategic planning, problem solving, decision-making, finance, CRM and Human Performance. Currently he is in the process of obtaining his Master Degree in Aviation Management from London .
Ali Al Hamdany
Director of Information Technology and Corporate Projects
Ali brings over 18 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) and Management to his role as Director of IT and Corporate Projects. After graduation from the University of Technology in Baghdad, Ali worked for major companies in UK such as British Airways, Sun Microsystems and Logica, gaining world class experience.
While working, he continued his education achieving an MSc in Engineering Design, and an MSc in Management of Information Technology.
Being a part of the start up team, he brings a wealth of experience across different industries combined with a business driven approach to IT. As Director of IT and Corporate Projects, Ali is in charge of all of air arabia’s IT aspects and corporate projects, including new corporate initiatives and projects, managing the IT end to end infrastructure and personnel, on-line booking system, systems development, as well as analysing, planning, and implementing air arabia’s future IT needs and requirements.
Paul Suckling
Director of Finance and Administration
Paul, a UK national, brings to air arabia an extensive knowledge of low cost operations throughout Europe and the UK. He has worked at senior levels with both Ryanair in Dublin, Europe's largest low cost airline and Euromanx Airways GMBH, a regional airline, which he helped to launch on the Isle of Man. In addition to his airline experience, Paul has also worked in senior financial roles within the Aerospace and Finance sectors.
As Director Finance at air arabia since July 2006, Paul is responsible for managing all financial aspects of the business, internal audit & control, purchasing, human resources and the overall business strategy of the airline. Paul's appointment further strengthens the management team which has helped to make air arabia the success that it is today.
A.K. Nizar
Head of Sales and Distribution
Nizar brings over 20 years experience of practical airline commercial and operating experience to his role as Head of Sales for air arabia . Part of the start up team, his suave, personable style and particularly his hands on experience of team building has been key to the airline’s success. Prior to joining the team in December 2003, Nizar held key managerial positions within Gulf Air and British Airways in the UAE and Saudi Arabia , including Gulf Air Area Manager and British Airways Sales Manager for Dubai & Northern Emirates.
As Head of Sales for air arabia , Nizar is responsible for developing the airline’s sales strategy; setting sales objectives; monitoring results across the network, as well as identifying new avenues for sales, markets and selling methodologies. He is also actively involved in the development of the strategic vision of the company, ensuring growth and profitability of the organization.
Harish Moideen Kutty
Head of Planning & Revenue Management
Harish brings extensive aviation skills to air arabia with his comprehensive experience combining Revenue Management and Planning with Marketing and Business Development, as well as a solid understanding of the Middle East region. His dynamic approach, out of the box thinking and distinctive personality combined with a flair for figures and strong analytical skills make him a formidable part of this start up team.
Before joining air arabia in 2003, Harish held vital roles at Qatar Airways and Gulf Air in Sales Performance and Pricing. His regional experience includes Commercial Business Support Manager for Gulf Air, Sales Development Manager in Abu Dhabi , and British Airway’s MENA Business & Distribution Executive in Bahrain and Dubai . As Head of Planning & Revenue Management , Kutty is key to air arabia ’s financial model with his strategic input on schedule planning for optimal aircraft utilisation combined with the pricing structure and revenue optimisation.
Rachel Abraham
Head of Human Resources
Rachel brings over 10 years of HR and administrative experience to her role as head of air arabia's Human Resources Department, drawing from her extensive knowledge in psychometric testing, recruitment, payroll administration, budget forecasting, development of HR policies and procedures, as well as a thorough understanding of UAE Labour Law and best practices.
Prior to joining the team in 2003, Rachel was Assistant Personnel & Administration Manager for Gulf News, a leading English newspaper in the UAE, with whom she held senior administration roles for over a decade. As air arabia's Head of Human Resources, Rachel is responsible for managing all HR issues related to recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development, performance management, employee relations, company policies and procedures.