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.

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.

Recently appointed Director of Technical Operations, Phil is responsible for delivering a safe and secure, customer focussed and highly efficient world-class operation. Committed to continually driving improvements in safety and operational efficiency, Phil continues to build on Virgin Atlantic’s innovative product offering.

The Technical Operations division is over 1900 people strong and comprises Flight Operations, Corporate Safety & Security, Integrated Operations, Crew Logistics, Supply Chain, Engineering & Aircraft Maintenance, Continued Airworthiness, Quality and Training, and Cabin Product & Maintenance.

Most recently, Phil spent 4 years as Director of Engineering.  Here he led significant improvements in operational reliability and delivered substantial improvements in customer satisfaction, driven through the introduction of innovative cabin products and advanced inflight entertainment systems.

Since joining Virgin Atlantic in 2004, Phil has held posts as Senior Manager Base Maintenance & Cabin Product and General Manager Supply Chain. He remains Virgin Atlantic’s Accountable Manager for all regulatory approvals and certificates for both Operations and Engineering.

Phil holds a Master’s Degree in Business from Henley and is a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He started his aviation career in the Army Air Corps at Baldonnel, Dublin and now resides in Berkshire with his wife and three children.

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.

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.

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.

Reuben joined Virgin Atlantic in January 2013 as Brand and Customer Engagement Director. Reuben is responsible for the airline’s customer experience offering in the air and on the ground as well as overseeing all design aspects around the business. Reuben also heads up the brand strategy for Virgin Atlantic and is tasked with the development of the brand identity and overall vision through sponsorship, advertising and marketing communications.

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.

Edmond Rose is Director of Airline Planning at Virgin Atlantic, responsible for fleet and network planning, pricing, revenue management, commercial systems, alliances and business development.

Edmond spent 11 years as a British diplomat and, after two years studying Mandarin, had postings in India and China.

He joined Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1998 to work on regulatory matters. After spells of time with British Airways and as a consultant offering strategic advice to airports, low cost carriers and investors, he returned to Virgin Atlantic in 2005 and took up his current role in 2008. He sponsored the introduction of the A330 at Virgin Atlantic and is sponsor for Virgin Atlantic’s 787 ‘Dreamliner’ programme. Edmond led the successful planning and launch of Little Red, Virgin Atlantic’s new domestic service.

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.

David is the Director of Information Technology at Virgin Atlantic. 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 teams in the data and digital areas. Moving to become COO at Broadsystem, part of News International, he managed the marketing services functions ranging from data management to call centres. David also oversaw the 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 roots 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, as well as overseeing technical operation globally.

Jill is the Director of People and External Affairs at Virgin Atlantic and sits on the Leadership Team 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 in November 2006, which aims to encourage the airline to become a more responsible and sustainable business. Jill was appointed into her current role in August 2009 and, as well as heading up the HR function at Virgin Atlantic, she oversees the Government Affairs, Legal and Sustainability Departments.

Joe manages two of Virgin Atlantic’s biggest priorities as Director of Short Haul and Joint Venture Performance.

Joe joined Virgin Atlantic in 2003 from an aviation consultancy practice. He has held a number of senior manager roles in the airline's commercial department and has lead country teams in both Hong Kong and India with responsibility for all Virgin Atlantic’s passenger activities in those territories.

Most recently he spent two years as General Manager Airport Operations, where he led great progress in operational performance and customer service across the network, and oversaw Virgin Atlantic’s airport teams in the recent launch of the airline’s domestic service Little Red.

Joe was appointed as a Director in May 2013 and is responsible for delivering the strategic and financial performance of Little Red and the transatlantic joint venture with Delta. He is leading the programme of work required for implementation of the JV, which is expected to be given regulatory clearance in late 2013.