EXPERIENCE: AMG is a team of established professional practitioners that have held operational and financial accountable executive positions across all sectors of the industry. Our track record extends from legacy to low cost, from start-up to turnaround, across the aviation value chain.
METHODOLOGY: We have worked together as a team for more than a decade, having developed and applied a consistent methodology, covering the breadth of requirements for any airline business to succeed. One of our core values is to develop and empower local teams.
HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS: Our multi-disciplinary experience, skills and expertise have a span of application that covers the full range of business disciplines in aviation in all parts of the world.
CREDIBILITY: The team have earned the credibility and industry respect that enables us to embed sustainable innovative solutions. We have professional expertise with airlines and stakeholders across the aviation industry including regulators, aircraft and engine OEMs, financial institutions and aviation authorities.
TEAM: With a core leadership team, we cover the the depth of expertise, together with our advisors, a selection of whom are featured below. We curate the experience required for any assignment according to client needs.
Peter is an experienced Chief Executive of airlines and a Chair and Non-Executive Director of customer and business services companies, fostering and protecting shareholder value.
Serving as CEO of five companies and as Board Director for more than 30 years. Currently the Chairman of Airlink, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a former elected Member of IATA’s Board of Directors, his achievements include:
With over 25 years in the aviation industry, Ben has a track record of commercial leadership in challenging international environments across the industry. Ben first started on the Graduate Fast Track program at British Airways and held senior positions across the airline including Duty Manager at Heathrow T1, launching the ‘Global Explorer’ with Qantas and USAir, launching Air Liberté in France, Global Sales Strategy, Distribution and launching e-ticket globally.
Ben has extensive expertise in commercial and business strategy and implementation for both start-ups and turnarounds, including market analysis, M&A and disposal for private and government entities. He has launched, grown, and implemented turnarounds of award winning airlines, including:
Ben holds a BSc (Joint Honours) in Psychology and Zoology from Bristol University, a postgraduate Diploma in PR from the London School of Public Relations and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. Ben is a coach/mentor, serves on the Board of start-up and high growth businesses, social enterprises and charities, and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
An experienced strategy and performance improvement professional with over 15 years experience in the aviation sector, Augusto has developed expertise in corporate strategy, corporate restructuring, performance improvement and transaction support with a successful and proven track record working with airlines, airports, regulatory bodies and investment funds.
He has been involved in the restructuring of Air Malta, LOT Polish Airlines, Meridiana and Caribbean Airlines amongst others, in a number of start-ups including SalamAir and Go-Fly, and has managed several high-profile projects such as a large MRO cost reduction initiative at Alitalia, a review of the business plan of a long-haul LCC for the UK CAA, the operational improvement of a mid-tier European airline facing intense LCC competition and several airport strategy and due-diligence assignments for investment funds.
Augusto holds a BA(Hons) in International Business Studies from the European Business School in London and speaks Italian, English and German fluently, and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Rigas Doganis has acted as a consultant and strategy advisor to airlines, airports and governments around the world. He has served as a non-executive director of EasyJet, for 9 years till the end of 2014, and of South African Airways. He was previously Chairman and CEO of Olympic Airways, the Greek national airline and implemented a successful turnaround plan. He sat on the Board of Hyderabad Airport in India for nine years and is Chairman of the European Aviation Club in Brussels.
He was Professor and Head of Air Transport at Cranfield University from 1990 to 1997 and is now a Visiting Professor there. He was Visiting Professor in Airline Management at the Asian School of Management in Manila.
Among Rigas’ numerous publications are three books “Flying Off Course: Airline Economics and Marketing”, “The Airline Business” and “The Airport Business”, translated into Spanish, Mandarin and Japanese
Justin has over 36 years of aviation industry experience, holding senior positions in aircraft maintenance, design and production engineering, airworthiness certification, safety regulation, CAMO, and asset management.
Justin served as Head of Asset Management for CDB Aviation Leasing with a fleet of 233 aircraft. He served as COO for the launch of SalamAir, playing an instrumental role in aircraft acquisition and the achievement of the AOC. He has delivered a number of EU based airline cost reduction and re-engineering programs encompassing strategic analysis and workload/capacity alignment, workforce optimisation, rationalising maintenance check content and efficiency. Justin was Founding Director of the AVISA Group of companies including AVISA UK, AVISA Gulf and aeroDAC. The group employs over 40 staff and are leading providers of CAMO and Part 21 DOA and POA services.
Justin holds a BEng Honours in Aerospace Engineering, is a Member of the RAeS, an Incorporated Engineer, a member of the BAAC and is a trained Quality and project Management specialist. He has over 9 years’ experience as a Senior Regulator and is a multi-type rated aircraft engineer on a wide range of fixed wing aircraft, and serves as aviation expert in both the London High Court and International Court of Arbitration.
A dynamic and proactive hands-on Vice President with over 25 years of continuous achievement and progression in service excellence and operational efficiency within the airline sector. Joe served as Head of Ground Operations for the launch of SalamAir, setting up the operational processes and playing a key role in the attainment of the AOC. He opened new bases for Ryanair in the UK, securing new airport layouts, passenger boarding zones, ensuring infrastructure, contractual and operational targets were met. As a core member of the Heathrow Airport (HAL) team he delivered a new World Class Special Assistance strategy. He was VP Network Stations and Acting Head of Ground Services for Qatar Airways, where he played a pivotal role in setting the strategy and achievement for 5 Star on the Ground, he successfully opened 35 new stations and was a key member of the Emergency Committee and of various crises teams.
Joe served as General Manager Heathrow for Virgin Atlantic Airways where he oversaw organisational change, introduced new working practices as part of a new management team that saved the company £10m. He Introduced a coaching culture within Airport Services at LHR and LGW, and successfully managed initial emergency situation during the VS24 crash landing at Heathrow in 1997 and the aftermath of the 2001 September 11 incident.
Joe served as Chair of the Gatwick AOC, working closely with the Airport authority regarding business relations, conformity to procedures, quality management, and airport construction projects.
Mike is an aviation professional with expertise in designing competitive airline networks and schedules, optimally assigning aircraft to routes for sustainable profitability. He was part of the turnaround of South African Airways leading network planning and airline partnerships developing innovative commercial relationships and new route launches, he led the regional expansion for Airlink including a fleet up-gauge, and was the architect of fleet and network expansion for the turnaround of Air Tanzania.
Mike has led the development of multiple airlines franchises across many African jurisdictions, adapting the LCC model to Africa. In addition he led the growth of an Aircraft Leasing and Management Company across the Middle East and Africa.
Mike earned an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town with a dissertation on “Distressed State-Owned Airline Syndrome, A Systemic Approach”
With 26 years aviation experience, John specialises in airport transactions and M&A, airport operations, asset management and route/network development, having completed over 35 airport transactions globally as either Principal or Advisor.
John was Head of Business Development at BAA (now Heathrow Airport Holdings), responsible for a wide range of airport related M&A activity including; leading bid teams to acquire Budapest and Oman airports and implementing the transition, managing the disposal of assets including World Duty Free, Lynton Properties, Indianapolis Airport, and various Australian airports (Melbourne, Perth, etc). John held a range of Operational Roles for BAA including Strategy and Regulation, Route Development, Retail, Security, Engineering, and Market Research
John holds an MBA from the University of Surrey (UK), and a BSc (Hons) Economics and Business Finance from Brunel University (UK).
David has many years of experience in aviation risk management, ensuring the airlines he has worked with are aware of their operational and financial risks, which are then effectively managed and controlled. David qualified as a Certifying Engineer beginning his aviation experience with Air Europe and then Virgin Atlantic Airways. David moved into management focusing on the fields of safety and compliance monitoring. He joined Jet2.com as Head of Quality, becoming Head of Safety, Compliance & Assurance, and was responsible for all aspects of Safety and Compliance management systems, Health & Safety and Aviation Security. During this time David was accountable for the development of a mature, industry leading safety management system. He successfully implemented the safety and compliance system for SalamAir, Oman’s first low cost carrier and serves as an Airworthiness Surveyor for UK CAA.
Rob is an aviation professional with over 15 years experience working across the sector with airlines, airports, lessors, OEMs, infrastructure funds and investment banks. With a specialisation in financial and strategic aspects of the industry, his experience covers both operational and regulatory due diligence and business planning.
Rob’s experience spans the industry body IATA, as well as low cost carriers such as easyJet, large network carriers and regional airlines. He worked on the privatization of Jat Airways, Serbia’s national airline, as well as Corporate Strategy projects at Etihad and Air Serbia. Rob was advisor to Institutional Investors on the UK Competition Commission breakup of BAA and evolution of airport regulation in the UK, as well as the development of aerospace policy for major G7 governments.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa.
Tony has over 25 years of experience in strategy consulting, finance and transactions, focused on the transportation sector, including airlines and airports. He has extensive experience in Africa and globally. Clients include major companies, private equity firms, and international donors & national governments – including BA, Qantas, Virgin & the World Bank. With extensive experience of PPP projects internationally and in Africa.
Tony was Partner in the Strategy Group at EY and Global Head of Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics. He managed an alliance with PWC specialised in restructuring and privatisation of transport companies in Africa, and worked on the privatisation of an African airline. He has given start-up support to airlines in South-East Asia and the Middle East, and was seconded to Qantas for 2 years to help with strategy and restructuring. Tony’s focus is on strategy, upside value creation and bridging implementation.
Tony’s focus is on strategy, upside value creation and bridging implementation, he has undertaken professional assignments in over 40 countries. He has an MBA from M.I.T..
Peter is an airline industry specialist and accredited Executive Coach and. He inspires individuals and teams to optimise performance through improved communication, leadership and commercial skills. Peter has 30 years experience in international aviation including senior roles with British Airways, Delta, Continental and as part of the start up team for Etihad Airways. He spent 17 years with British Airways in key commercial and operational leadership posts both in the UK and overseas, including West and East Africa. Whilst at BA, he was a key member of an Organisational Change Team, and established and ran a Government team responsible for BA’s Public Sector business. In Africa, he set up and launched new services to Nigeria’s capital Abuja, as well as in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. He was a Board Director of the Board of Airline Representatives UK.
Peter is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and a Chartered Marketer, a Fellow of the Institute of Travel and Tourism, and winner of the Outstanding Services to Travel Award 2006 from the Guild of Travel and Tourism. He has published articles in the Travel Industry press, and is a guest university lecturer.
Patrick has over 20 years of aviation-industry experience across senior roles in the airline, airport and aircraft leasing sectors, as well as a background in strategy consultancy with an increasing focus on sustainable aviation. He has headed up the Network and Strategy function for three regional airlines and is a board member of the European Regional Airline Association.
Patrick was Group Strategy Director for Shannon Group plc, the operator of Shannon Airport in Ireland. In this capacity he led the expansion of Shannon’s International Aviation Services Centre, a successful and growing aerospace industry cluster consisting of over 80 independent aviation and aerospace companies.
Patrick studied Computer Engineering at Trinity College Dublin and Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, and also holds an MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University in the UK and an MBA from Purdue University in the USA.
Ray served as Deputy Director of Sales for British Airways, and as VP Sales for the oneworld airline alliance, from its inception in 1999, both with worldwide responsibility. Ray held a number of senior positions at British Airways including; Director Ground Operations Heathrow responsible for all BA and many third party operated flights, Head of Revenue Management, and Managing Director of Travicom (Galileo predecessor company). He has also worked in BA Cargo in commercial and operational roles, and in New York with commercial responsibilities USA-wide.
Ray’s non-executive board experience includes EB2, a start-up internet booking engine provider, where he was the first appointed NED and oversaw the company’s sale to Sabre.
Ray holds a Masters in Operational Research from Lancaster University and a BSc Mathematics from Sussex University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Eryka has over 30 years experience from front line operations to board level within the Aviation and Rail industries. She is a stakeholder engagement specialist with an emphasis on operations, transformational change, and customer experience. Eryka began her career in airline operations with bmi, Virgin Atlantic and became Air New Zealand’s Airport Manager at Heathrow including the role of Department for Transport qualified bomb threat assessor, before moving into rail at Heathrow Express.
She has worked with start-ups and corporates on some of the UK’s largest aviation transformation programmes, designing and delivering stakeholder engagement programmes working with Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, Stansted Airport, SITA, Airlines UK and CrossRail, amongst others. She is able to leverage understanding of all aspects of an operation to bring maximal process and customer service improvement.
Eryka focuses on people development, team building and fosters positive attitudes towards change, ensuring engagement within complex, fast moving environments. She leverages her operational experience of both airlines and airports and provides a credible voice in aviation transformation with the wider stakeholder community, mitigating challenges and risks to ensure successful delivery.
Ray is a qualified finance professional with more than 25 years of international experience delivering complex business transformation and restructuring assignments. Ray has worked across many industries and geographies gaining a wealth of experience in delivering tangible results through leveraging experienced teams.
Ray has led many large scale transformation and restructuring assignments, including Chief Restructuring Officer roles, for global brands including international airlines (Caribbean and Southern Europe), finance and technology service companies (Central & Western Europe) and specific advisory on numerous other projects. Ray’s specialty lies in his ability to prepare “bankable” business transformation plans, their translation in action and ultimate delivery – remaining accountable throughout the process.
Gillian is a Thought Leader in Service Experience development and Managing Director of TMI UK Limited. Having started her career in the airline industry, first in marketing and then moving into the world of organisational development she now works with a broad range of international clients on developing, engaging and embedding a branded service experience into their organisation.
Over the past few years, she has designed and embedded customer experience propositions for British Airways, John Lewis and the Royal Household amongst others.
Gillian is was also invited to be a special advisor to the London Olympics.
During a career spanning 14 years in aviation, Melinda initially held senior roles in Malev Hungarian Airlines, then became one of the six partners who founded and launched Wizz Air, now the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe. Responsible for branding and marketing, she delivered the initially unknown Wizz Air brand into one of the most recognized and profitable low-cost airline brand in Europe.
In 2011 she joined a new leadership team restructuring Air Malta. Melinda lead the rebranding of this national airline, rebuilding the brand, delivering a marketing strategy and creating customer care and loyalty teams. Melinda translated the business plan into an end to end customer journey.
Melinda supports airline branding projects on a consultancy basis. Her business experience in leafing corporate airlines and initiating successful start ups make her a valuable asset for any change project.
Milan has 40 years of experience in aviation, aircraft maintenance, operations, and regulations. He has held leadership positions including responsibility for Adria Airways Engineering, Head of Flight Operations, and as General Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of Slovenia. He created MK Tek, a Part 145 approved maintenance organisation, as well as Aero4M, now Amelia International (Regourd Aviation Group) as a successful maintenance company, CAMO certified and EU Ops operator, specializing in regional aircraft. Milan is an experienced post holder, and holds licenses and certifications in: ICAO type 1, Part 66 B2; Type rating for: EMB 120, EMB 135/145, King Air B200, ATR 42/72, EMB170/190, Falcon 7; ICAO Airworthiness Inspector, Maintenance Program Development, Part 145, Part M, SGS, Aircraft Reliability, Engine Trend Monitoring, Aircraft Maintenance Program Development, Quality Audit, Aircraft Operation, Aircraft Security, Safety Management Systems
Helen is a dedicated, enthusiastic and proactive Head of Cabin Crew with extensive experience across the aviation industry, She served as Head of Cabin Crew for the launch of SalamAir, setting up the department, creating the service standards, recruiting and training over 60 crew based in Oman. Helen has set up new airline bases in challenging environments across the world including Europe, Africa and Asia. She is an experienced SEP and Cabin Safety instructor, covering both theory and practical and has trained international crew for leading airlines.
Helen served as Cabin Base Manager and SEP Instructor responsible for 800 Cabin Crew in Jeddah for Air Atlanta Icelandic operating for Saudi Arabian Airlines. She was selected as Base Manager on Ascension Island, a military contract, operating on the B747 aircraft. She joined the launch of Astraeus at London Gatwick, responsible for the safety and security of passengers on the B737 aircraft, and served as Cabin Crew for Caledonian Airways on the fleet of Tristar L1011, DC10, A320 and B757, as well as operating routes for British Airways on the B777 fleet. Helen has commercial experience including as Account Manager for McGinley Aviation servicing 800 Ryanair pilots, as well as in retail management.
Matina brings over 30 years of extensive experience in managing and implementing complex initiatives, with strong emphasis on IT transformation, planning, project, process management and organisational change. Matina has balanced the strategic needs of the business with a solid understanding of the customer and the delivery of bottom line impact and results. She has worked for large international corporations such as Virgin, Hewlett Packard, Canadian Pacific Railway, TransCanada Pipelines, Esso Petroleum, Munich Reinsurance and Siemens.
Matina served as CIO of Air Malta, developing and implementing a new IT strategy, ensuring a robust technology foundation for the company moving forward, she was also a key driver in the company’s digital transformation. As launch program manager of the Transatlantic Secure Collaboration Program she brought program management discipline and cultural understanding to the venture spanning 5 countries and 9 government and commercial organisations in the Aerospace and Defense industry.
Matina holds an MBA in Business & IT Strategy and a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences. She is fluent in English and German and has strong knowledge of Spanish, Italian and French. She has a special ability at understanding different cultures having extensive work experience in Canada, USA, Germany and Malta.
Pier is a Marketing and Customer Experience expert with over 20 years of brand led transformation experience. He was Vice President Marketing for Virgin, and led the Customer Experience and On Time Performance transformation at Air Malta. Pier served as VP of Brand Management at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and was responsible for Brand Led transformations across a number of industries including aviation, retail, banking, hospitals, aligning service delivery and internal processes with the Brand Promise and target customer experience. Pier has extensive launch and commercialisation experience across various business verticals and business models at a global level in North America, Europe and the Middle East.
Ralph is an aviation professional with experience of complex transactions across the industry. He is a financial modelling expert covering airline and airport business plans. Ralph’s areas of expertise include airline business planning and fleet evaluation, airport transactions and re-financing projects, and project management.
Ralph conducted deal pricing and completed detailed economic analysis, pricing support and delivery pricing for aircraft leasing deals at GE Capital Aviation Services and drove business metrics to ensure profitable and sustainable growth and cash generation at GE Power.
Ralph holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, and is studying for his MBA at the Haas School of Business, University of California.
Dean has over 25 years of Airline Operations experience, specialising in Crew Resource Planning, Crew Control Software, Scheduling Agreements, Regulations, Business Process Engineering, Training and Crew Relations. He has held positions of responsibility for Operations departments, Crew Management and IT, and has advised CEOs and Directors on transition, development and change.
Dean’s experience in aviation technical and operational matters includes Fatigue Risk Management System enhancement at Virgin Atlantic, redesigning and implementing a new Operations Control Centre at Flybe, Operations IT transformation at Vueling with projects from system training to fuel efficiency, Flight Operations Transition Manager at Air Malta during the EU approved turnaround, redesigning the Flight Operations department, introducing a new Safety Management System, Fatigue Risk Management and Emergency Response Procedures. At Air Tanker he was responsible for crew planning for civilian and RAF pilots and cabin crew, as well as managing Crew Fatigue in FRMS. At the XL Group, Dean was responsible for crew planning for 5 airlines covering 3 AOCs, over 2000 crew and 50 staff in multiple locations, responsible for Union Agreements, staff recruitment and training, CAA co-ordination, travel, crew training and records, as well as Operations Systems Management. He has led operations and crew transformation at Air Atlanta Icelandic, Jet2, National Jet Italia, British World Airlines and Sabre Airline Systems.
Dean is a regular contributor and resident expert in Crew Resources and Project Management for Aircraft IT Operations eJournal and presents regularly on Crew Resources at conferences. Dean is Prince2 and ITIL qualified.
Christian has over 30 years of experience in the aviation sector, specialising in airport and ground operations. He worked at Lufthansa Cityline as Postholder ground operations and in Crew Planning & Dispatch and as General Manager of Lufthansa airport operations in Berlin. After managing the Handling Division of Aviapartner Group he has covered various senior positions within Munich Airport, including Managing Director for Ground Services, Member of the Board, Director of Quality, Project and Process Management, and MD of Munich Airport Security. He also acted as Chief Transformation Officer of Sofia Airport.
Christian is a Certified Compliance Officer from the University of Augsburg and holds a number of IATA, ACI and EASC professional memberships.
After building his reputation working for a number of leading financial institutions and spending some 20 years as a top-rated analyst in the City of London, Chris established himself as an aviation analyst and advisor. He has served as special advisor on aviation policy issues to the UK Government, to Parliamentary Committees and to the Civil Aviation Authority; he has advised a number of airlines, as well as major airframe manufacturers and aircraft lessors on strategic development issues.
Chris has carried out assignments involving business plan assessments for major carriers on behalf of banks and investors; in-depth reviews of prospects for European airline consolidation; evaluations of major international airlines on behalf of potential investors; and strategic reviews of airlines undergoing structural change. He works at senior management and Board level. He is a member of the European Advisory Panel of All Nippon Airways and has been appointed a member of the “Vision 2050” Group established by the Director General of IATA to consider the future of the airline industry
Chris is a senior visiting fellow at the University of Surrey, and regularly lectures at the London School of Economics and Oxford University. He is also a judge on key Industry panels.
A leading global airport and aviation advisory firm run by airport directors and infrastructure fund investors with experience in over 50 countries worldwide
Airports – ranging from global hubs like Heathrow, Chicago O’Hare and Abu Dhabi to regional airports which face different, but no less challenging issues.
Airport Investors and Financial Institutions – providing comprehensive due diligence services, having worked on major airport transactions representing equity, vendors and debt providers.
Government and Public Sector – helped inform the development of national aviation policy and worked to implement specific policies in the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
Buchler Phillips Ltd is the UK’s leading independent, corporate recovery, turnaround and restructuring firm. AMG and Buchler Phillips launched a unique joint venture, offering the aviation industry a wide spectrum of business consulting expertise to address its complicated and critical challenges.
Buchler Phillips has a very long history in financial restructuring: the reorganisation of a business’s assets and liabilities to reach an appropriate and sustainable position. BP can advise on debt-for-equity swaps or re-capitalisations, capital raising through its venture capital strategic partners and managing exits or the return of capital through a solvent winding up process.
Buchler Phillips Ltd is the UK’s leading independent, corporate recovery, turnaround and restructuring firm, dealing also with business advisory work in a wide variety of sectors. Based on a professional heritage dating back to the 1930s, the senior team at Buchler Phillips is equally comfortable advising global corporations, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or individuals on all aspects of financial and operational challenges, as well as supporting them in their ambitions to grow. Backed by decades of experience, each of our Partners and team members, bring to any given engagement unique independent insight, free from conflicts of interest, that is often sought but rarely found by clients or co-advisors. The firm is sector-agnostic, but has particularly strong credentials in real estate; retail; financial services; transport and logistics; UK sport; leisure and hospitality; manufacturing and engineering; technology, media and entertainment.
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