Virgin Atlantic Directors

Craig was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Atlantic Airways on 1 February 2013 which has a fleet of 40 long haul aircraft, flying six million passengers a year all over the world. He joins from American Airlines (AA), where he had a 27-year career spanning commercial, financial and strategic roles in the US and around the globe.

Craig joined AA in 1985 as an analyst and was appointed Senior Vice President, Customer in 2012. He spent six years in London as Senior Vice President, International and was responsible for AA operations and sales throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific. He has worked on AA joint ventures with British Airways and Iberia across the Atlantic, as well as its partnership with Japan Airlines in the Pacific.

Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California at San Diego, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Tim Livett is the Chief Financial Officer at Virgin Atlantic Airways. He is responsible for all areas of Finance including Treasury & Risk Management activity, together with Procurement, IT and Facility Services.

Tim joined Virgin Atlantic in May 2004 as Director of Finance and added responsibility for IT and Facility Services in November 2008.

Prior to working at Virgin Atlantic, Tim was European CFO for Hudson Highland Group Inc - a business specialising in mid market recruitment and search activities operating in 11 countries across Europe.

Tim started his career as a graduate trainee with ICI spending time at Head Office, in the Paints business and finally with Biological Products. He then moved on to spend 8 years with British Airways in a variety of finance roles including Financial Controller for Sales & Marketing, and Financial Controller for Operations. Tim received a BA in Chemistry from Oxford University.

Corneel is Director of Operations, Safety and Security at Virgin Atlantic and sits on the management board for the airline. Corneel has a wealth of international experience and knowledge of the airline industry from previous roles held at KLM, Air France KLM and subsidiary company Cobalt Ground Solutions.

Prior to joining Virgin Atlantic, Corneel held the position of Managing Director at Cobalt Ground Solutions, the largest ground handler at Heathrow Terminal 4 and London City Airport and during his time as Managing Director he was instrumental in preparing and completing the merger of this Air France KLM subsidiary. Prior to this, Corneel held various positions at KLM including Regional Director Africa and Middle East and Regional Director, East Asia at KLM Cargo. He then moved to Japan where he held the positions of General Manager at KLM and Commercial Director for the region at Air France KLM. Corneel then relocated to the UK taking the position of Managing Director for KLM Ground Services, handling several major airlines at London Heathrow and London City airport.

Corneel was appointed Director of Operations, Safety and Security in September 2010 and is responsible for continuously strengthening standards of operational performance for the airline and oversees flight operations, cabin services, airport operations and safety and security.

Amanda Wills is the Managing Director of Virgin Holidays. She joined the company in October 2001 as Managing Director of Virgin Holidays, a time when the travel industry was in turmoil after the tragic events of September 11th. During her first few weeks, Amanda was faced with the task of re-shaping the business in a time of world instability. Within her first year, Amanda, along with the rest of her team, had completely revamped the company creating new structures, products, revitalised brochures and a new brand image.

Amanda started her career in tourism at Airtours Plc in 1987. Joining as an overseas representative, Amanda worked her way up through the organisation. During this time she spent three years in Spain as well as 18 months in North Africa, before finally returning to the UK in 1992.

In 1995 she was appointed to the position of Purchasing Director of Airtours and after two years she became the first woman to become a Director of the United Kingdom Leisure Group. She spent four years in this position building strong relationships with key industry figures before finally joining Virgin Holidays.

Today, Amanda and her team have taken Virgin Holidays to new heights with a clear and focused strategy moving forward into the 21st century as one of the leading and most successful tour operators in travel, being No. 1 to Florida, USA and now also No. 1 Scheduled Tour Operator to the Caribbean.

Edmond Rose is Director Commercial and Revenue Planning at Virgin Atlantic, responsible for fleet and network planning, pricing, revenue management, alliances and business development.

Edmond spent 11 years as a British diplomat, serving in India and China and as Private Secretary to the Minister responsible for Britain’s relations with the Asia-Pacific region before joining Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1998 to work on regulatory issues. He moved to British Airways in 2001 as Head of Regulatory & Political Affairs. In 2002 he set up the European office of aviation consulting specialists GCW Consulting. He returned to Virgin in 2005 and was latterly General Manager Airline Planning.

John Lloyd is Director of Cargo for Virgin Atlantic and is responsible for the airline's cargo operations worldwide. John, who has over 20 years experience in the cargo industry, joined Virgin in September 1987 as a Cargo Operations Officer based at Gatwick Airport. Since then he has progressed within the company through various supervisory and managerial positions based at Heathrow and Gatwick, including General Manager - Operations and General Manager - Cargo, until he was promoted to his current position in May 2000.

Before joining Virgin Atlantic, John started his career in the air cargo industry in 1985 working in various roles for Gatwick Handling. Prior to this he worked for the National Westminster Bank.

Jill is Director of HR and External Affairs at Virgin Atlantic and sits on the management board for the airline. Jill is a qualified lawyer and worked for leading London law firm Lovell White Durrant prior to joining Virgin Atlantic in 1994, first as a Legal Adviser and then as General Manager of the Legal Department.

Jill gained experience in the online travel arena between 2000 and 2003 first as Head of Legal and Business Affairs at lastminute.com and then as General Counsel for Opodo Limited. Jill then rejoined Virgin Atlantic in 2003 as General Counsel for the airline, retaining overall responsibility for the airline's legal function but also leading the business sustainability department. Jill set up Virgin Atlantic’s sustainability team November 2006 which aims to encourage the airline to become and more responsible and sustainable business. Jill was appointed director of HR and external affairs in August 2009 and as well as heading up the HR function at Virgin Atlantic, she oversees the government affairs, legal and sustainability departments.

Phil Maher was apppointed as Director of Engineering in August 2009. Phil took over from Steve Griffiths, who was appointed as Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Operating Officer in March.

Phil has 23 years' experience in aviation and has been Acting Director of Engineering for six months. Phil has worked for Virgin Atlantic for five years, holding the role of Senior Manager, Base Maintenance & Cabin Product and General Manager, Supply Chain. He has substantial management experience and holds an MBA from Henley Management College. He was named Chartered Institute Manager of The Year for south east UK in 2007. Phil started his career in the Army Air Corps at Baldonnel in Dublin.

Phil Maher is married with three children and lives in Berkshire.

Maria joined Virgin Atlantic as Director of Worldwide Sales in August 2012. Maria joined us from American Airlines where she had recently taken up the role of Managing Director, Worldwide Advertising, Promotions and Product Marketing. Maria has incredible experience in global aviation and will be the driving force behind our growing ambitions.

Prior to American Airlines Maria was based in Dallas where she was Managing Director Sales Planning and Analysis for Passenger Sales.

David is the Director of Information Technology at Virgin Atlantic and sits on the management board for the airline. David is an experienced IT professional with a wide span of strategic, technical and commercial expertise and a background in global systems project implementation and infrastructure management.

Prior to joining Virgin Atlantic, David held a number of senior IT roles, most recently in the Media and Advertising sectors. At WPP Agency Y&R/Wunderman, he managed the technical functions and client facing teams in the data and digital areas. Moving to COO at Broadsystem, part of News International, he managed the marketing services functions ranging from data management to call centres. David also oversaw the technical re-launch of the websites at the Times and the Sun before moving to Aegis Group plc, where he was CIO of this global media agency group. There he oversaw a number of transformational global programs, both at the infrastructural level and in business change as the agency began to operate globally from its routes as a network of independent national agencies. At Reed Business Information, he launched a number of cutting edge online data services.

David was appointed to this new role in November 2011, and is actively working in the business on a number of technologically supported change initiatives.

Reuben joined Virgin Atlantic in January 2013. In addition to our customer experience, he is also responsible for Inflight services and worldwide Clubhouses, as well as on board media and all aspects of design.

Reuben joined from Eurostar, the international high-speed rail operator, where he was responsible for all aspects of end to end customer experience. He led the company through significant change, including the introduction of a new range of travel classes and headed up the design process for Eurostar’s new fleet. He also led the design and build project for Eurostar’s flagship terminal at St Pancras International in London. Prior to this, Reuben held a number of senior operational management roles, including Head of Customer Service and Head of On Board Services.