As part of a business strategy to accelerate its recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, British Airways has appointed four new leaders to its management committee.
One name in particular will be familiar to many in the passenger experience sector: Calum Laming, who is moving from his role as chief customer officer at fellow IAG carrier, Vueling. In April he is to become British Airways’ director of business recovery, leading the airline’s efforts to rebuild its global network, resources and operations following the pandemic and ensuring the business has the resilience and agility to recover over the years ahead. Laming has previously held a variety of customer, brand, product and marketing roles at Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and Etihad Airways.
Another passenger experience appointment is Tom Stevens (pictured left), who became the airline’s director of brand and customer experience on an interim basis during the pandemic. He has now been confirmed in the position. Stevens joined British Airways’ graduate scheme in 2011, initially working in the procurement team before moving to customer and operational roles. He has served on the airline’s Management Committee since 2021 and will continue to lead the airline’s digital-first, customer-centric strategy.
The third appointment is Colm Lacy who, like Stevens, was given an interim role during the pandemic. He is now firmly established as chief commercial officer. Lacy started working for British Airways in 1997 as a finance analyst, and has since held a number of finance and commercial positions at the airline. Lacy has also been on the Management Committee since 2021.
Finally, Michelle Lydon has been appointed as chief people officer. She will join British Airways in February from QinetiQ, the defence, aerospace and security company, where she was group human resources director. In her role at British Airways, Lydon will oversee the airline’s strategy for people and people transformation, learning and development, reward, strategic resourcing, recruitment, employee and industrial relations.
British Airways’ chairman and CEO Sean Doyle, said the four figures will “help us deliver our new vision for the business”.
“As we recover from the global pandemic, there’s never been a more important time to have a determined, ambitious and supportive leadership team that will put our people and our customers at the heart of everything we do. There’s a lot of work to do but we’re on our way and I’m confident we can create a working culture that allows our people to thrive, deliver excellent customer service and look to a sustainable future while always continuing to do what we do best – connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain,” Doyle added.
