Stefan Pichler (born November 7, 1957) is a global airline and tourism Chief Executive. Most recently he was President and CEO of

Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...

. Previously, Pichler was the Managing Director and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Air Berlin Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (), branded as airberlin or airberlin.com was a major German airline. At its peak, it was Germany's second-largest airline, as well as Europe's tenth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried. It was h ...

, served as Managing Director and CEO of

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

, as the CEO of

Jazeera Airways Jazeera Airways K.S.C ( ar, طيران الجزيرة) is a Kuwaiti airline with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport in Al Farwaniyah Governorate, Kuwait. It operates scheduled services in the Middle East, Nepal, Pakis ...

, Chairman and CEO of

Thomas Cook AG Thomas Cook AG was an Anglo-German, global travel group. The group had its headquarters in Rochdale, and sold products such as package holidays and flights through its 3 in-house airlines. On 19 June 2007, the group merged with MyTravel Group p ...

and Chairman of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft, as well as Chairman of Fiji Tourism. Additionally, he has held Senior and Executive Board roles as a CCO at

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue ...

and at

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

. In November 2014,

appointed Pichler as CEO effective February 2015. After signing the restructuring deals with Lufthansa and

Etihad Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

, Pichler left to lead Royal Jordanian Airlines. Pichler then developed a turnaround plan for Royal Jordanian which helped to return to profitability by the end of FY 2017. Royal Jordanian also posted a sharp increase in the operating results and net income in 2018 and 2019. Pichler announced his retirement effective 30 September 2020.

Early life and education

Pichler was born and raised in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. He received a master's degree in economics and law from the University of Augsburg and a post graduate degree from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

Career

In 1983, Pichler began his career as Head of Sport Promotions for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...

. Pichler became the Marketing and Sales Director of France for

in 1989. In 1991, Lufthansa appointed Pichler Managing Director for Lufthansa France, based in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was promoted to Head of Worldwide Sales for Lufthansa in 1996 and appointment as a member of Lufthansa's Executive Board the following year. In January 2000, Pichler was appointed

, a national tour operator. He helped develop the company to the world's second largest leisure group. ''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' ranked Pichler number one on its list of the "Top 30 Tourism Managers" in 2003 for the third consecutive year. The following year he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer and Chairman of

. In 2009, Pichler joined

as CEO. In 2011, the airline's operating profit margin was the second highest in the global airline industry (25.6%) and in 2012, the margin was 30.2%. He received the "Personal Achievement of the Year Award" at the Aviation Business Awards for making the airline profitable in 2012. In September 2013, Pichler was appointed Managing Director and

. He was promoted to Chairman of Tourism Fiji in August 2014. Additionally, Pichler served as a member of the Board of Tourism Australia and held roles at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Tourism Working Group of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

. He has also held non-executive director of major German corporations including

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

and Steigenberger Hotels. In November 2014,

appointed Pichler CEO effective February 2015. With the support of Etihad Airways, Pichler developed a strategic restructuring plan which resulted in dividing the company into 3 separate business units: the first unit was to provide 40 aircraft to Lufthansa Group per wet lease agreement. the second unit, the touristic business including the Austrian daughter company Niki, was sold to Etihad Airways who invested this stake into a joint venture with TUI Group. And the third unit, New Airberlin, was redesigned to become a network carrier serving the hubs in Duesseldorf and Berlin. All those deals were concluded in December 2016 were designed to enable a new start for airberlin which had lost over 3 billion Euros in the last 10 years. Also in December 2016, he announced his resignation as CEO of Air Berlin effective January 31, 2017 and left to lead Royal Jordanian into a turnaround.

Personal life

Pichler is a former internationally ranked marathon runner and ran for the German national team.

References

External links

*http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/jazeera-airways-turnaround-continues-to-show-results-57162 *http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/3237-Thomas-Cook:-New-cost-reduction-programme-Triple-C-launched *http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1621381.stm *http://www.focus.de/reisen/urlaubstipps/reise-die-top-30-tourismus-manager_aid_193680.html *http://www.aviationbusinessme.com/aviation/2012/nov/8/262715/ *http://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/handel/air-berlin-wird-die-krisen-airline-jetzt-zerschlagen/14600750.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichler, Stefan 1957 births Living people Businesspeople from Munich German airline chief executives University of Augsburg alumni INSEAD alumni West German male marathon runners