Stefan Pichler

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stefan Pichler (2013)

Stefan Pichler (born November 7, 1957 in Munich ) is a German aviation and tourism manager. Among other things , he was Chief Sales Officer at Deutsche Lufthansa AG , and from February 2015 to January 2017 Chief Executive Officer of Air Berlin . Pichler has spent most of his professional career outside Germany, in roles as CEO of Thomas Cook, Fiji Airways, Jazeera Airways and Royal Jordanian, and as Deputy CEO of Virgin Blue.

Life

Pichler's mother was a teacher, his father worked at the patent office. After graduating from high school, he started his career as a professional long-distance runner and became a member of the national team. Over the 25 km distance he was one of the five best in the world. In 1980 Pichler qualified for the Olympic Games in Moscow , which were ultimately boycotted by the Federal Republic of Germany.

He began his professional career in 1983 as the director of Nike Sports Promotions in Beaverton, Oregon . Pichler quit his job and studied law and economics in Augsburg .

In 1989 Pichler went to Lufthansa , where he initially worked as a marketing and sales manager for France. In 1991 he was appointed director for France. In 1995 he became director for Lufthansa’s core business in Germany and in 1997 global director of marketing and sales. From March 2001 Pichler was CEO of Thomas Cook AG. In November 2003, Pichler resigned from his posts at the urging of the two shareholders Lufthansa and KarstadtQuelle.

Between 2004 and 2009, Pichler worked as Chief Commercial Officer for Richard Branson's Virgin Group in Australia. He was responsible for transforming Virgin Blue into a network airline. As Chairman of the Supervisory Board in 2008, Pichler also founded V Australia, the new Australian long-haul carrier of the Virgin Group.

Pichler was CEO of Jazeera Airways , a listed airline in Kuwait from September 2009 to August 2013. He changed the airline's business model from a low-cost airline to a scheduled airline . In September 2013, Pichler became chairman of the board of directors and a member of the supervisory board of Fiji Airways , where a five-year plan was drawn up under his leadership in 2013 to bring the airline back into profitability. The goal was met in 2015 with a dividend payment of 2.5 million Fiji dollars .

In November 2014, Pichler was appointed CEO of Air Berlin with effect from February 2015. With the support of Etihad Airways , he developed a strategic reorganization concept which provided for the company to be split into three different business areas. The first unit acted as a wet lease partner to lease 40 aircraft to Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The second unit, the tourism business, including the Austrian subsidiary Niki , was sold to Etihad Airways in order to bring it into a joint venture with TUI AG. And the rest, the so-called “new Airberlin”, was to be converted into a network carrier with hubs in Düsseldorf and Berlin.

At the beginning of 2017, Pichler took over the management of Royal Jordanian .

After years of losses, Royal Jordanian announced that it would return to operating profitability in 2017. In the following years 2018 and 2019, the operating profit and the group result improved significantly.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b NZ Herald: Marathon run for new Fiji Airways chief . September 25, 2013. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Wirtschaftswoche: Stefan Pichler - This is how the new Air Berlin boss ticks . November 10, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b Fiji Airways: Stefan Pichler Leads Fiji Airways . September 6, 2013. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f breakingtravelnews.com: Virgin Blue Appoints Stefan Pichler as CCO . October 13, 2004. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ travelweekly.com: Tourism Fiji to expand reach with Pichler as chairman . August 20, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bloomberg: Air Berlin Lures Ex-Lufthansa Manager Pichler From Fiji as Chief . Accessed December 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ Berliner Zeitung: Stefan Pichler becomes the new Air Berlin boss . November 4, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ aerotelegraph.com: Air Berlin brings marathon man . November 3, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ Die Welt: New Air Berlin boss takes over ejection seat . November 3, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ flightglobal.com: Lufthansa . February 26, 1997. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  11. ↑ Manager Magazin: Adieu, have a nice trip . November 7, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ horizont.net: "Thomas Cook boss must go" . November 7, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ a b Fiji Airways' new MD Stefan Pichler sets his sights on the next five years for the rebranded airline . September 19, 2013. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  14. ↑ It's better down under . Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  15. ↑ A good omen for Air Berlin? . aerotelegraph.com, July 31, 2015. Accessed August 3, 2015
  16. ↑ Will the crisis airline be smashed now? . Wirtschaftswoche, September 16, 2016
  17. ↑ airberlin Board appoints new CEO . airberlingroup.com, December 18, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Pichler, Stefan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German airline and tourism manager
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich