Chief economist Brian Pearce will retire from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in July 2021, after 17 years with the trade association, and a recruitment process has been launched, a press release confirmed.
Since joining the organisation in 2004, Pearce, who also serves on the strategic leadership team, has built IATA’s evidence-based economic analysis capabilities into the most authoritative source of insight on aviation’s global performance. Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said the chief economist has become the go-to commentator on economic developments in air transport.
“Brian has been an amazing asset for IATA and for the entire industry. His team’s research and analysis have been powerful tools impacting how governments develop policies to realize the economic and social benefits of a successful aviation sector,” noted de Juniac. who is set to step down from his post at the end of March.
“Most notable is his personal contribution to promoting the airline sector’s progressive economic liberalization, achieving an historic agreement to manage aviation’s climate change impact, and helping the world understand the devastating impact of the COVID-19 crisis on aviation. Brian will leave IATA having set a very high bar for its trusted economic analysis.”
“We wish him the best for a well-deserved retirement that will no doubt include endeavors that keep him close to aviation developments,” he added.
de Juniac announced last year that he will step down from his post after March, with Willie Walsh, former CEO of IAG Group, taking over as IATA’s eighth director general effective 1 April 2021.
Prior to IATA, Brian was director of the Centre for Sustainable Investment at the Forum for the Future, head of global economic research at the investment bank SBC Warburg in Tokyo and then London, and chief economist at Ernst & Young’s economic forecasting consultancy.
He is also a visiting professor at Cranfield University’s Department of Air Transport and has been on panels of expert advisers for the UK Airports Commission, the UK Department for Transport and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
