OFFICERS:
President: Anton Vidgen (Air Canada)
Vice President: Luc Bondar (United Airlines)
Treasurer: Zina Neophytou (BBC Studios)
DIRECTORS:
David Kondo (Finnair)
Esdra Lamy (Warner Bros Discovery)
Stefan List (Airbus)
Jonas von Kruechten (AERQ)
PRESIDENT CANDIDATE – Anton Vidgen
Anton Vidgen
Air Canada
Senior Director, Experience Design
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
The opportunity to serve APEX’s membership again as President is an incredible honour and privilege. I am tremendously excited by the path ahead for our industry, member companies, and for APEX as we move past the challenges of the pandemic.
We emerge as more efficient players seeking growth, and for APEX that means capitalizing on our acquisition of FTE, regrowing our member base, and delivering more value for industry through programs such as APEX World Class. The APEX team is hard at work on many more strategic and innovative initiatives that will benefit many of our members.
I hope many of you will be able to attend APEX EXPO in Long Beach from October 25-27, 2022, as well as other APEX and FTE events over the coming year.
I look forward to serving you again as APEX President and can’t wait to celebrate your successes to come.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
- Over 16 years of experience in the aviation industry
- Have worked for airlines and aerospace companies in 9 different countries and 4 different continents
- Founded and led boutique aviation consultancy
- Have worked extensively with full-service and low-cost carriers
- Currently Senior Director, Experience Design at Air Canada. As part of delivering a branded customer experience at Air Canada, Anton leads the design and long-term vision of the airline’s products and services across inflight, ground, interior design and communication touchpoints as part of the company’s goal to position Air Canada as an iconic Canadian brand.
Leadership experience:
In addition to APEX roles, served on FTE Board and Alumni Association Board.
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
- APEX President Emeritus 2021-2022
- APEX President, 2020-2021
- APEX Vice President, 2018-2020
- APEX Board member, 2017-2018
- Marketing Committee member, 2017-2021
- Nominations Committee member, 2019-2020
- Awards Committee member, 2017
VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE – Luc Bondar
Luc Bondar
Vice President, Marketing & Loyalty and President, MileagePlus®
United Airlines
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
United Airlines is committed to being a global leader and a trailblazer in passenger CX – as evidenced throughout the global covid-19 pandemic. As a leader shaping many aspects of CX at United, I am running for the APEX Board as Vice President as I believe the role provides a tremendous opportunity to share what we are doing and learning at United in an effort to positively affect change and drive CX innovation across the wider commercial aviation industry.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
19+ years working with various commercial airlines worldwide in passenger marketing, loyalty program strategy, design and operations including 4 years with United Airlines leading loyalty and 1 year also leading marketing.
Leadership experience:
Star Alliance – United Airlines representative on Star Alliance Loyalty Strategy Board
Journera – travel technology company, Advisory board
United JV with Lufthansa and Air Canada – Customer Experience Board
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
APEX Board member since 2021.
Participant in 2022 APEX strategic planning session.
TREASURER CANDIDATE – Zina Neophytou
Zina Neophytou
BBC Studios
VP, Out of Home
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
In September I will complete a four-year term on the APEX Board of Directors. It has been my pleasure to serve APEX members, and I would like to ask for your support of my candidacy to serve another term on the APEX Board.
I am running as a supplier Candidate representing BBC Studios and I’d like the opportunity to continue to act as a voice for content. As one of the main content providers to airlines, a key focus area for me has been to help move forward the industry’s obsolete content delivery processes to help load new content onboard aircraft much faster. I’ve been actively pursuing how connectivity can enable us to implement changes effectively and efficiently in a way that benefits our industry. I’ve demonstrated leadership in moving technology forward by pioneering an industry first to stream inflight one of the BBC’s landmark shows at the same time as its TV network premier. In order to share this innovation with the wider industry, I participated in panels at APEX EXPO and APEX TECH.
Furthermore I worked alongside our Insights Team at BBC Global News who commissioned the Slipstream study, which was developed to understand the expectations of connected travel from the passenger perspective. I worked closely with APEX to share these results with member companies through panels at Expo and Tech and these valuable insights remain available to members.
As the industry strives to recover from the impact of the pandemic, I believe that continuity of leadership during these times is vital. Now more than ever the need for creative thinking is key for APEX Members and I continue to see great value in the APEX organization and what APEX can do to support members during these challenging times.
I have been an active member of the association for over 20 years and one of the most important aspects of a membership driven organization is to ensure that member voices are heard and their concerns addressed. I’d like to continue to do this this and help influence the direction of the association in the future.
In addition to my tenure on the Board of Directors, and participating in panels at EXPO and TECH, I am also a member of the Finance Committee. I hope to continue to grow as a member of the Board of Directors enhancing benefits for members and I will continue to focus on new technologies that could enhance the passenger experience and benefit our industry.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
The first industry event I ever attended as a professional executive when I was working for Worldwide Television News (now known as APTN) was WAEA in Durban back in 1998. It was at this event where I was poached by the BBC and where I have been working since April 1999. Since then and throughout my 21 year career at the BBC, I have been committed to working very closely with APEX and I have been a goodwill ambassador for APEX within the BBC. Over the years I have successfully concluded numerous sponsorship agreements between the BBC and APEX which included providing BBC Talent/Presenters/Keynote Speakers at a number of its events. As well as working with the traditional CSP’s and directly with airlines, I have concluded distribution deals for the Live BBC World News channel with all the key connectivity players within the IFEC industry and I continue to work with new distribution platforms such as streaming services to PED’s, VR Headsets etc. I was responsible for launching the very first bespoke BBC Channel to the maritime market which successfully launched in January 2017 and I continue to explore something similar within the IFEC industry.
Leadership experience:
In my role as VP – Out of Home at BBC Studios, I am a member of the EMEA Leadership Team within Global Distribution. I am also very well connected with key influential figures within the Airline industry because of my involvement with IATA. Furthermore I have nurtured strong relationships with numerous other industry associations such as Worldhotels, World Travel Market, The International Hotel & Restaurant Association, PATA to name a few…
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
I served at the APEX Board of Directors 2018-2020 as a Director. In addition to my tenure on the Board of Directors, and participating in panels at EXPO and TECH, I am also a member of the Finance Committee.
DIRECTOR CANDIDATE – David Kondo
David Kondo
Finnair
Head of Airport Customer Experience
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
I believe as an industry we face many challenges at the moment and APEX is such an immense platform to help tackle these issues together. To that end, I would be honoured to serve on the Board of Directors, represent our members and help drive and shape the future of our industry.
Having built more than a decade of experience in airline customer experience development with some of the world’s leading airlines, holding an immense passion for the passenger experience, and having launched some highly innovative products to market, I feel I am now well placed to contribute back and serve on the APEX Board to better our industry.
With leadership roles across multiple customer facing aspects of airline product development including cabin interiors, service, food and beverage, soft product, airports and lounges with multiple airlines and multiple world markets I’ve built a strong understanding of what makes a great experience. I’ve also had the fortune of working with many great supplier partners in our industry, many of whom are also APEX members.
If elected, I look forward to working with our members and in a collaborative manner to help address the big topics in our industry and grow back even stronger after these past turbulent years.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
Global experience driving step change in NPS, customer experience, and brand with some of the world’s leading airlines including Finnair, Qatar Airways, Jetstar (Qantas group) and Virgin Australia.
Highlights include:
- The end-to-end development of Finnair’s new long-haul cabin experience featuring the AirLounge Business Class and newly introduced Premium Economy
- Leading the early design development of the award-winning Qatar Airways Qsuite Business class
- Redevelopment of Finnair’s flagship non-Schengen international lounges to redefine service concepts, grow floorspace by 50% and introduce an all-new look and feel for Finnair
- Being part of the core team to deliver the inflight service design and menu development for Qatar Airways for the launch of A380 and A350 services, to which the hallmarks of this service remain onboard to this day
- Rebranding and turning Jetsar Asia’s onboard retail program from loss to profit
In my most recently appointed role at Finnair, as Head of Airports Experience, I am looking after all aspects of the Finnair Journey on the ground. I’ve recently completed our transition to Helsinki’s newly constructed departure hall and look forward to driving innovation further on the ground as I have done in the air.
Leadership experience:
In addition to my leadership roles within the airlines I have worked, I have also previously served on the Steering Committee of the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX).
At Finnair I was responsible for establishing the in-house design and product development department that created Finnair’s new look and feel including cabin interiors, lounges, airport spaces and onboard product.
Working in product development throughout my career, I have lead teams cross functionally considering numerous stakeholder groups within the airline and externally with suppliers. This has also often involved strong interaction with the executive boards and representation in various steering groups.
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
N/A
DIRECTOR CANDIDATE – Esdra Lamy
Esdra Lamy
Warner Bros Discovery
Senior Vice President
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
As the leader of our IFE division at Warner Bros Discovery I’ve had the privilege of seeing first hand the impact of collaboration across the industry with our Airlines partners. As a part of the board I will bring that same collaborative approach to continue to expand on the work of the board across the industry.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
I lead the WBD IFE team representing content across Warner Bros, HBO, HBO MAX, Turner.
Leadership experience:
I’ve served on the associate board of Teach For America for the past 5 years. I’m a founding member of Toast Distillers Inc.
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board:
No previous experience
DIRECTOR CANDIDATE – Stefan List
Stefan List
Airbus
Head of Cabin Market Insights
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
Over the course of the recent month the aviation industry returned to full capacity at an amazing speed in almost every country. Passenger have no COVID-19 related concerns anymore flying for private or business reasons. This is an impressive result of the APEX activities and of its members. APEX proved again its importance for our industry, also in crises times. Thanks to your support I joined the APEX Board of Directors in 2020, just at the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time also the APEX Board of Directors were forced to only meet online to continue our work and serve the mandate given by our members. Over the course of the last two years I had the pleasure to support airlines, vendors, partners, governments, authorities and APEX in more than 200 online workshops on how to maintain trust in air travel. Now at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic our industry faces new and other challenges for a robust long-term growth. I would be honored to continue my work as a member of the APEX Board of Directors helping to overcome those challenges together.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
– Trend Research: Cabin Classes & Configurations, Airline Operations, Business Models, Branding and Revenues
– Global Passenger Research: Passenger Segmentation, Passenger Preferences, NPS, Passenger Focus Groups
– Customer Experience Teams: Innovation-/Concept Testing with Airlines and Lessors – Innovation workshops with Airlines, Start-Ups and Tech companies in Silicon Valley
– Cabin Innovation Strategy
– Concept Cabin 2050: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5K1ZDs-li0
– Cabin Vision 2030: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWML-pIsaU
Leadership experience:
Various leadership positions with Airbus Cabin Marketing, Engineering, Program Management, e.g.
– Head of Cabin Market Insights
– Head of Cabin Product Strategy & Concepts
– Head of Cabin Innovation Strategy & Consumer Research
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
– Member of the APEX Board of Directors since 2020
– Chair Thought Leadership Committee (TL) since 2020
– Member of the Education Committee, now TL, since 2012
– Working with WAEA and APEX since 2007
– Organization of key notes speeches, panel discussions
– Presentations at APEX EXPO, TL events, panel moderation
– APEX Board of Directors Interviews and Team booster workshop in 2013
– Organizer of APEX EXPO 2012 keynotes regarding Connectivity Ecosystem with C-level speaker from Cisco, Intel, Ericsson, Google, Philips
DIRECTOR CANDIDATE – Jonas von Kruechten
Jonas von Kruechten
AERQ
Head of Strategy and Business Development
Reason for running for the Board of Directors:
As a relatively new member of this industry, active at AERQ, a start-up company attempting to launch a new generation of digital experience platform, I have quickly learned that an incumbent perspective alone is insufficient. We need fresh leadership, drive and inspiration to meet the problems and issues of an industry that is not only changed by the direct effect of the pandemic, but which will continue to evolve at a growing speed given changing passenger needs and the increased digitalization of processes, products, and services.
I am running for the APEX Board of Directors to bring to this association:
— A fresh perspective on passenger experience technology born of my personal experiences, as well as from the combined perspective of a major global consumer electronics company and a long-time MRO and IFE service provider.
— An admiration for and appreciation of the contributions to this industry of the many small and medium-sized companies who are the heart of this industry. As Head of Strategy at AERQ, I have dealt with many such companies in architecting AERQ’s solutions, and will ensure that their interests and perspectives are represented on this Board.
— A keen eye for the changes taking place both internally and externally that, in a post-pandemic environment, are essential to the recovery and growth of this industry.
— An appreciation for the need to involve airlines and their perspectives into our products, services, and activities of this association. This has been a concept for many years, but its reflection needs to become much more essential to the industry’s work.
Airline passenger experience industry experience:
I have been working in passenger experience for the last 5 years, spearheading the foundation and scaling of AERQ, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Lufthansa Technik (https://www.aerq.com/), and being deeply involved in identifying, designing and developing its passenger centric services and solutions. During this time I have also had the chance to build an extensive network of partner companies including many smaller firms and startups, that allowed me to further gain an understanding how our industry operates and the different approaches to digital experience design and management.
Prior to AERQ, I helped grow Lufthansa Technik’s product division which is leading the IFE/CMS market for business jets.
Leadership experience:
My several years in team and project leadership have been an invaluable experience and essential in shaping and evolving my personal values and leadership principles – which I would like to share and use, in combination with my drive for innovation, to help contribute to the advancement of the industry. As Head of Strategy and Business Development I have been central to the leadership at AERQ, working across all internal departments and with external parties. I am currently also serving on the Board of Advisors for ABOVE (https://www.above.aero/).
Current or previous experience on APEX committees and/or APEX Board experience:
I am pleased to have been participating in several APEX Tech panels sharing my insights and discussing topics of product and services digitalization including the evolving media content supply chain and advertising services. It has been important to me to represent and more so focus on the passenger experience and airline uses cases during these often very technology and engineering driven conversations. My work at AERQ and with APEX Board and working group members has also contributed to and progressed the current technical endeavors to advance the digital cabin experience.