UAE sales director suddenly resigns

Something must happen at the Emirates management, or something like that …

Emirates Commercial Director resigned

It was announced today that Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, resigned with immediate effect.. With the exception of CEOs, I do not usually cover changes in executive positions in airlines unless I find them particularly interesting … and that's one of those cases.

Who is Thierry Antinori?

For those of you who do not know Antinori, he has been at Emirates since 2011, where he started as Senior Vice President of Sales, before being promoted to his current position in June 2013.

He has worked in the airline industry for more than 30 years and previously held senior management positions at Air France and Lufthansa.

It should be noted that Antinori said that in 2016, he had been offered the role of CEO of Air France-KLM, but had preferred to stay at Emirates.

What could make him resign?

Some suggest that Antinori's departure may be linked to Emirates' recent financial results, where the airline recorded a 69% drop in profits last year. I doubt, however, that this is the case, because all things considered, I would say that Emirates has still been successful.

No reason has been given to explain why Antinori suddenly resigned. I do not know if this is related to disagreements at the top of Emirates or if it is linked to the fact that it finds another opportunity elsewhere.

Tim Clark has been president of Emirates since 2003, and rumors have long been about his retirement, as he turns 70 this year. Antinori was considered one of the main contenders for this post. Christoph Mueller also, who also resigned from Emirates earlier this year.

Antinori would have turned down a huge opportunity in 2016. So, what exactly happened in the last two years that led him to abandon one of the most important jobs in the airline industry, and then to resign suddenly to Emirates.

Bottom line

Maybe we'll know more soon, maybe not. I imagine that Antinori had a great opportunity elsewhere or that he was realizing that he was not ready to take on the job of Clark at Emirates, or that the management of the company would Emirates was likely to be much more upset. Or maybe it's a combination of two of these factors.

What do you think of Antinori's sudden departure from Emirates?

(Hat to Oleg)