Board
 

Ed Anderson , Chairman

Ed Anderson has been the Chairman of AOA since 2008, following a previous period in the role from 2001 to 2002. He is also Chairman of the Yorkshire Building Society and the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Ed has held a number of senior executive positions in the airports industry including Deputy Managing Director of East Midlands Airport from 1987 to 1990 and Managing Director of Leeds Bradford Airport from 1997 to 2007. He was a non-executive director of Kelda Group plc, and chaired its Audit Committee until 2008 and is a director of a number of other public and voluntary sector organisations in Yorkshire.

Ed is an economics graduate and a qualified accountant, with a particular interest in regional economic development and transport.

Neil Pakey , Senior Director, Vantage Airports Group

Vantage Airports Group is a group of international airports operating in Canada, the Caribbean, Chile, Cyprus and in the UK. Vantage are owned jointly by Vancouver Airport Authority and the Citi Infrasructure Investors. In the UK,  the Vantage Airports Group owns the majority shareholding of PAL (Peel Airports Limited), which encompasses Liverpool John Lennon International Airport, Durham Tees Valley Airport and  Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Prior to his current role Neil was Managing Director of Liverpool John Lennon Airport from 2003 to 2008 and subsequently CEO and Deputy CEO of the Peel Airports Group..

He had previously held several key roles at Manchester Airport and has worked for British Caledonian Airways and Air Seychelles, where he was Director of Marketing and Industry Affairs. He also spent time in Brussels, while seconded to the aviation unit of the European Commission from 1991 to 1994, where he advised on the liberalisation of air transport in the EU.

He has been a previous Chairman of the AOA, seeing it through a series of successful major changes in 2006 and 2007. He was Chair of the Mersey Tourism Board during Liverpool’s bid for European Capital of Culture and has held various  non-Executive Directorships primarily across the aviation and tourism industries.

Darren Caplan , Chief Executive

In January 2011, Darren Caplan became the new Chief Executive of The Airport Operators Association.

Darren has 14 years’ experience in communications, public affairs and politics in a number of sectors, including infrastructure, planning and technology. He has worked for public affairs and communications agencies PPS Group, Morgan Allen Moore and for the last four years Brands2Life, as director of its public affairs practice. His political experience includes working for the Conservative party and standing as a parliamentary candidate in the 2010 general election.

On his appointment, Darren said: "I’m incredibly passionate about aviation and the freedoms which airports bring, be they global trade benefits to UK plc, boosting regional and local growth, or enabling millions of people to holiday and visit friends and family in the UK and around the world. It’s certainly an exciting time to be working with the AOA team and members at this challenging time, with a new government bedding in and a UK economy desperate for the types of jobs and investment which airports create."

Penny Coates , Chief Operating Officer, Manchester Airports Group

Penny joined Manchester Airports Group (MAG) in 2005 and is responsible for the performance and development of the four MAG Airports as well as being a MAG Group Board member. Penny has additional responsibility for delivering MAG's sustainability agenda. Penny also holds a Non Executive Director position with the Cooperative Society and is a member of Council and various committees for Loughborough University.

Prior to this she was a Director at the supermarket, ASDA, and had a successful career in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and retail management. She has worked with blue chip companies such as Mars, PepsiCo and Boots in various functions including business development, operations management and corporate planning.

Richard E Gooding , Chief Executive, London City Airport

Joined British European Airways as a General Apprentice in 1966: subsequently worked in overseas sales, planning, passenger and ramp handling, and overseas area management. Left in 1981 to join Manchester Airport initially to run ramp handling and the passenger terminal, and subsequently as Operations Director.

Appointed as Ogden Allied’s Managing Director and first UK staff member in 1985 to develop a new European ground handling business.

In 1991, appointed Chief Executive of London Luton Airport with a remit to restore profitability and growth, culminating in the re-launch of the airport as the centre for low cost scheduled, charter and corporate aircraft services in the London area.

In 1996, appointed by the new owner of London City Airport to manage and develop this special, niche, top end of the market operation. Since then the airport has more than quadrupled passenger throughput as well as achieving profitability, and has expanded into aircraft management and operation.

The airport was sold again in 2006 and its current owners (GIP and Highstar) are working closely with Richard and the management team to further develop and maximise the value of the airport.

Richard is past Chairman of the Airport Operators Association, President of the Newham Chamber of Commerce, and a Member of the London Skills and Employment Board. He is also involved in the voluntary sector as a Non Executive Director of the Royal Docks Trust and Board Member of both Leaside Regeneration and Gateway to London. He was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006.

Kyran Hanks , Strategy and Regulation Director

Kyran Hanks was appointed as Strategy and Regulation Director in April 2010. Kyran has a long career in regulation and most recently held the post of Economics and Regulation Director for BAA for five years where he was in charge of BAA's CAA and Competition Commission investigations, including Select Committee testimonies on behalf of the company.

Prior to BAA, Kyran had roles in the energy sector working for regulators and regulated companies, including three years working for Enron. Kyran has a Degree in Commerce from the University of Birmingham.

Glyn Jones , Managing Director, London Luton Airport Operations Ltd

Glyn Jones has been Managing Director of  London Luton Airport since 2007. He began his career at British Airways, where he held roles in sales and marketing and business analysis. Since then, he has concentrated on logistics and aviation. He spent three years in aircraft sales, successfully marketing the British Aerospace Advanced Turboprop and 146 jetliner range to major airlines in Asia. He served as Commercial Director with both DHL and Hays DX, then as Managing Director of Bournemouth Airport and Palletline plc, the UK’s leading palletised goods distribution network.

Glyn has a BA in English and Italian Literature, as well as masters degrees in both Comparative Literature and English literature. He holds the diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Paul Kehoe , Chief Executive Officer, Birmingham Airport

Paul Kehoe has been CEO at Birmingham Airport since October 2008 and prior to that he was CEO at Bristol International Airport. Previously he worked for TBI from 1997 to 2005, joining as MD for Belfast International then running the Plc’s European division, before becoming MD at London Luton Airport. In November 2001 he was appointed to the main board of TBI Plc as Operations Director.

He started his career in aviation as an air traffic controller in the Royal Air Force and has worked for a variety of companies in the industry including British Aerospace plc and Serco Aviation as well as TBI plc.

Paul has long been an active member of the Airport Operators Association and was chair of the organisation 2004-05. 

Paul holds a BSc (Hons) in Geography, an MBA, a diploma in Marketing and was awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of the Birmingham City University in September 2011.  He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Honorary President of the RAF 2030 Elmdon Air Training Corps squadron.

Paul is married with two children.

David Laws , Chief Executive, Newcastle International Airport

David Laws is the Chief Executive of Newcastle International Airport.  He began his career with the airport over 30 years ago as a trainee fireman and then rose through many areas of the business including health and safety, human resources, operations, aeronautical and commercial development before becoming Chief Executive in 2007.  

He is passionate about the north east region and maintaining sustainable links for the business community as well as providing popular holiday destinations for nearly 5 million passengers per year. He was instrumental in the successful introduction of a daily scheduled route to Dubai in 2007 and has recently grown the low cost sector of the business through Jet2.com, whilst adding a Brand new 4 star Hilton Hotel to the Airports portfolio.

David takes a keen interest in football and was a National List Referee but retains close links with the Football Association as a match delegate.  In addition he is Vice President of the North East Chamber of Commerce.

Nigel Milton , Director for Policy & Political Relations, BAA Airports Ltd

Nigel leads BAA's Public Affairs and Community Relations teams. His responsibilities include managing BAA's relations with politicians, government officials, business groups and the community around Heathrow; co-ordinating BAA's position on policy issues; and liaison with local authorities, the UK Government and the European Commission on a range of policy issues which impact on BAA's UK airports. Nigel represents BAA on a wide range of trade associations and lobbying groups.

Nigel joined BAA from Virgin Atlantic in March 2010 where he had spent six years in the External Affairs department, latterly as General Manager for Government & External Affairs with responsibility for Virgin Atlantic's relationships with governments around the world. Nigel arrived at Virgin Atlantic in February 2004 from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) where he had been Assistant Director for International Aviation since October 2000.

At the DfT, Nigel had been the lead negotiator in aviation talks with, firstly African and Middle Eastern countries and later, with countries in the Americas. Prior to this post, Nigel was Private Secretary to the UK Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Transport, John Prescott, between 1998 and 2000. Following his graduation with a law degree from Oxford University in 1993, Nigel travelled extensively before joining the UK Civil Service in 1995. Nigel also has a Masters degree in Transport Planning and Management from the University of Westminster.

Anne Reynolds , Airport Director, Isle of Man Airport

Anne Reynolds was appointed to her current role in 2007, after holding previous positions at Isle of Man Airport as Operations Director and Airport Projects Manager.

Prior to this she was a Deputy Managing Director of Sheffield Airport and a Customer Services Manager at Southampton. She has also held a series of other front line roles in the sector, with periods as an Airport Duty Manager and Station Manager.

Anne began her career in Air Traffic Control working with BAA. She has also worked outside the UK as Group Manager for PlaneStation plc, with responsibility for five non-UK airports, and later as Managing Director of two airports in Germany.

Robert Sinclair , Chief Executive, Bristol International Airport, AOA Vice Chairman

Robert Sinclair joined Bristol Airport as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 20th October 2008.

Since joining Bristol, Robert has worked with his senior management team to lead the business through the recent recession in the UK, achieving incremental passenger growth, delivering improved airport facilities and services and securing the planning application to significantly expand the airport. He has also been instrumental in creating a new brand and vision focused on improving the passenger experience.

Prior to his role at Bristol Airport, Robert was Chief Financial Officer at Auckland Airport (13 million passengers per annum) with responsibility for the finance, strategy, corporate affairs and IT divisions.

Robert commenced his professional career with leading law firms in New Zealand and the US, before moving into investment banking (advising clients in the airport, airline and transport sectors). Robert is a qualified lawyer and chartered accountant.

A New Zealander, Robert has immigrated to the UK with his wife and family.

Roger Walker , Director Airport Operations, Tag Farnborough Airport

Roger Walker has held his current position for four years and has been at the airport for nine years, since the CAA licence commenced.

Roger has 25 years airport management experience, primarily in the UK, working for the BAA, largely at Heathrow, and for TAG Aviation at Farnborough.

Roger has previously served in the UK Merchant Navy working for Cunard as a Navigating Officer.