MAG appoints Gareth Powell as Managing Director of Stansted Airport
Above:
Stansted Airport.
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Gareth joins having spent 19 years at Transport for London (TfL), most recently as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, which saw him lead TfL’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
During his time at TfL, Gareth managed around £5bn of revenue and a workforce of more than 3,000 people, as well as key stakeholder relationships including with the Mayor of London, the Greater London Authority and the Department for Transport.
MAG has also announced that Steve Griffiths has been appointed the new Managing Director of East Midlands Airport.
He will take forward the next phase of the cargo strategy for the UK’s busiest pure freight airport. In addition, he will have Group-wide responsibility for delivering MAG’s Operational Transformation Programme, leveraging his knowledge of the Group’s airports and significant experience in running large public transport operations.
During his time at the helm of London Stansted, Steve led the airport through the challenging pandemic, demonstrating incredible leadership and driving it to become the UK’s fastest recovering airport.
MAG CEO Charlie Cornish said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Gareth to the business. His considerable operational, commercial and strategic experience will make him a great addition to our executive team and help us realise our ambitions for London Stansted.
“I would also like to thank Steve for his achievements during his time at Stansted. He will take this experience and acumen to East Midlands, as we look to maximise the role it plays in supporting UK global trade.”
Gareth Powell, incoming Managing Director of London Stansted Airport, said: “This is an exciting time to be joining the country’s leading group of airports and taking the reins at London Stansted.
“The whole team at Stansted has done a superb job seeing it through the challenges of the pandemic and coming out the other side as one of the top performing airports in the UK. I can’t wait to get stuck into continuing that solid recovery, growing the airport sustainably, and providing the best possible service to our passengers and airlines.”
East Midlands Airport
MAG has also appointed Steve Griffiths as the new Managing Director of East Midlands Airport, who moves from London Stansted, where he led the business through the Covid-19 pandemic and drove it become the UK’s fastest recovering UK airport.
Steve will take on an expanded Managing Director role, responsible for all financial, commercial and operational performance at the airport including overseeing the next phase of EMA’s cargo development strategy. He will also take the lead on MAG’s overall Operational Transformation across its three airports.
MAG CEO Charlie Cornish said: “Steve’s track record speaks for itself, having navigated Stansted successfully through the pandemic and overseen an impressive recovery.
“He will bring this considerable experience to East Midlands, as we look to maximise the contribution it makes both for passengers from across the Midlands and to driving global trade.
“I would also like to thank Clare James for the excellent job she has done during her time at EMA since the start of the pandemic. Clare has led the airport in handling record levels of cargo over the last few years and managing the recovery of the passenger operation, all while improving customer service, strengthening staff engagement, and leading key activity in the region to become the only airport Freeport in the UK.”
Steve Griffiths, incoming Managing Director of East Midlands Airport, said: “East Midlands Airport is one of the most important airports in the whole country, forming the backbone of express freight that powers the growth of advanced manufacturing and other high-value industries. It is the hub that connects customers across England, Scotland and Wales to the world’s most important markets.
“I am looking forward to working with the fantastic team at East Midlands to further strengthen that critical national role and realise the huge potential of the Freeport, while continuing to deliver excellent customer service to our loyal passenger base and supporting our local communities.
“Alongside my leadership of East Midlands Airport, delivering our Operational Transformation Programme will be fundamental to MAG’s growth across the Group. I want to capitalise on the unique opportunity we have as a national airport operator to lead the way with how to run airports that customers want to use and airlines want to fly from.”
