Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Cargo, was newly elected to the SWISS Board of Directors at the company’s annual general meeting on 23 February 2023. He succeeds Christina Foerster, who remains a member of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board and also interim CEO of Brussels Airlines.
The Board of Directors of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has a change of personnel. Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Cargo, was newly elected to the SWISS Board at the company’s annual general meeting on 23 February 2023. He succeeds Christina Foerster, who has relinquished her Board position. Foerster remains a member of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board and also interim CEO of Brussels Airlines.
“On behalf of our entire Board of Directors, I would like to offer Christina Foerster my sincere thanks for her great work, her unbounded application, and her deep commitment to our company,” says Reto Francioni, Chairman of the SWISS Board of Directors. “Not only during the tough pandemic period but throughout her tenure, our Board and our company have been able to count at all times on her sound judgment and her expertise. And we are delighted that the Lufthansa Group will continue to benefit from her invaluable know-how.”
New Board member Ashwin Bhat has been Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Cargo since March 2021. In this capacity, he is responsible for the external organization of Lufthansa Cargo’s sales and handling, product, revenue management, pricing, network planning, and sales management worldwide, and also for the platform management of Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. Before his present function, Ashwin Bhat headed SWISS’s Zurich-based Swiss WorldCargo division, a position he had assumed in October 2015. He had originally joined the then Swisscargo AG in February 1999 and occupied various executive positions in fields such as revenue, transportation and global area management. The holder of a chemistry degree commenced his professional career in 1992 when he joined Mumbai (India)-based Airline Financial Support Services as a cargo & mail revenue accounting manager.
“We are delighted to welcome Ashwin Bhat to our Board of Directors,” SWISS Board Chairman Reto Francioni continues. “He is widely recognized and respected for his extensive expertise, especially in the global airfreight business that is of such key importance to SWISS. And his election helps us meaningfully and strategically complete the areas of expertise that are available to us on our Board of Directors.”
The SWISS Board of Directors now comprises Reto Francioni (Chairman), Doris Russi Schurter, André Blattmann, Remco Steenbergen, and its new member Ashwin Bhat.