Gulf Air has announced the appointment of Swiss national Björn Näf as the chief operating offi cer. Näf, 42, began his aviation career in 1990 with airline pilot training in the US and Switzerland.

Since then he has served in various departments in the industry, including stints as emergency instructor, a captain, pilot trainer, on time performance manager, operations control center manager and executive vice president for product and services – cabin crew, ground services, product development and management and customer relations.

Näf joins Gulf Air from Transafrik International, Kenya, where, as the chief executive offi cer, he oversaw the international cargo, humanitarian and relief fl ights for the United Nations.

From the early 90s to late 2000, he served in various departments at Crossair. In 2003, he was appointed CEO of Swiss Express, the regional operations of Swiss International Air Lines where he was instrumental in the build-up and entire set-up of the carrier. He has also served as captain for Crossair, Switzerland.