Mark Whitehead, chief executive of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) will retire on March 7th after nearly eight years at the helm. Whitehead’s place will be taken by Wilson Kwong.
Kwong is currently the chief executive of Jardine Engineering Corporation (JEC). He joined the Jardine Matheson Group in 1998, and has worked in Jardine Aviation Services, the Jardine Matheson Head Office, and Hongkong Land. Prior to joining JEC, he was chief executive officer of Raffles Quay Asset Management, a Hongkong Land joint venture company overseeing One Raffles Quay and Marina Bay Financial Centre in Singapore.
Says Whitehead: “I welcome Wilson to Hactl, and I am confident that Hactl will flourish under his proven leadership. He will be supported by our unique team, and I wish them all the best.”
Whitehead joined Jardine Matheson in 1987 as an in-house legal counsel; he subsequently worked for Jardine Transport Services Group, and was the Jardine Matheson Group’s senior representative for Indo-China from 1996 to 1999. He was then appointed managing director of Schindler Lifts Hong Kong, after which he worked at Hongkong Land as an executive director. He joined Hactl in 2010, with the specific task of steering the Company through the biggest challenge in its history: the loss of its majority shareholder and major customer, Cathay Pacific, which in turn became Hactl’s competitor.
Under Whitehead’s leadership, Hactl continued its investment and modernisation programmes, achieved many “firsts” in the industry and won a host of industry awards. The company handles over 100 airlines and more than 1.8 million tonnes of cargo (2017).
Whitehead also led Hactl to become the largest freighter ramp handler in Hong Kong. Its value-added logistics subsidiary, Hacis, has undergone significant investment and expansion and will continue to grow as a well-respected player in cross-border trucking.
Whitehead says: “I look back with great satisfaction on what we achieved at Hactl and am clear that our extraordinary progress has only been possible through the drive, support and hard work of our workforce. I am proud to have led the team, and to have been part of such a strong ‘can do’ culture.” Whitehead’s achievements were recently recognised by The Hong Kong Institute of Directors at their annual awards dinner, where he was named as one of its Directors of the Year.
He concludes: “I look forward to hearing about Hactl’s continuing growth and successes. For my own part, I have grown to love the air cargo industry, and the people in it. I still feel I have a lot to offer, and I look forward to opening a new chapter of opportunities and challenges – whatever and wherever they may be.”
