A HISTORIC APPOINTMENT AT A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR GLOBAL AVIATION

The International Air Transport Association has announced that Saadia Zahidi has been appointed by its Board of Directors as IATA’s ninth Director General, effective 1 November 2026. Zahidi joins from the World Economic Forum, where she has spent more than two decades as Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board and currently heads the Centre for the New Economy and Society. Her appointment makes her the first woman to serve as IATA Director General in the association’s 81-year history.

Roberto Alvo, Chair of the IATA Board of Directors and CEO of LATAM Airlines Group, said the Board was very pleased to appoint Zahidi as Director General, describing her long and outstanding experience at the World Economic Forum as something that would enhance and strengthen IATA as the voice of the world’s airlines. He said global air transport was a trillion-dollar industry that continued to change the world for the better, and that Zahidi’s appointment came at a moment of significant change in the international environment — one in which technology and geopolitics, among other forces, would reshape the industry. He also paid tribute to outgoing Director General Willie Walsh, whose leadership he credited with helping IATA emerge from the COVID years stronger and with a more representative membership than ever.

TRANSITION: WALSH DEPARTS 31 JULY, LE BORGNE SERVES AS INTERIM DG

Willie Walsh, who has served as IATA Director General since March 2021, will conclude his duties on 31 July 2026. To cover the period between Walsh’s departure and Zahidi’s start date of 1 November, the IATA Board of Directors has appointed Sandrine Le Borgne — IATA’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Services — as Interim Director General. Le Borgne is a senior figure in IATA’s management structure and her appointment as Interim DG ensures continuity of leadership during the transition period.

WHO SAADIA ZAHIDI IS

Zahidi has spent more than two decades at the World Economic Forum, where she founded and co-authors the WEF’s Future of Jobs Reports, Future of Growth Reports, Global Gender Gap Reports and Chief Economist Outlooks — publications that have collectively shaped the global conversation around economic transformation, workforce change and inclusive growth. She previously led the WEF’s Global Communications Group and Global Programming Group, and has directed the organisation’s engagement with academics, civil society and international organisations.

Beyond the WEF, she has served on the United Nations Secretary-General’s panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment and the European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group. She is the author of ‘Fifty Million Rising’, which examines the rise of working women in the Muslim world. Zahidi holds a BA in Economics from Smith College, an MPhil in International Economics from The Graduate Institute in Geneva, and an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and holds Swiss and Pakistani nationalities.

Zahidi said she was honoured to help advance IATA’s mission to represent, lead and serve the airline industry at a pivotal moment. She said aviation was critical infrastructure for economic growth, trade, tourism, jobs, investment and opportunity, and that in a rapidly changing world, IATA’s role in bringing the industry together through trusted standards, essential services and advocacy had never been more important. She described her top priority as working with the IATA team and the industry to build aviation’s future together.