Airports up and down the UK have not been far from the headlines over the last couple of years.
They have faced significant challenges from shutting down almost completely during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic through to reopening and dealing with being short staffed and long queues.
Manchester Airports Group, which runs Manchester, East Midlands and Stansted, is just one company that have had to navigate a turbulent time since the spring of 2020.
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The group recently issued a statement following an undercover Dispatches documentary was aired on Channel 4 that featured footage of Manchester Airport passengers crawling through conveyor belts in a bid to get their bags, “brutal” staff shifts and people “trying to start fights”.
It also recently posted losses of £320m for its latest financial year, with its combined losses for the last two years totalling £694m.
There has also been a change of the top this year after the managing director of Manchester Airport stepped down in April after weeks of chaos for travellers.
Below, BusinessLive profiles the current top team at Manchester Airports Group as they work to hire hundreds of new staff and improve the experience for travellers.
Sir Adrian MontagueSir Adrian Montague was appointed non-executive chairman of Manchester Airports Group. in September 2014.
He is currently the chairman of the Porterbrook Group, Cadent Gas and TheCityUK Leadership Council.
Sir Adrian is also a trustee of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.
Previous chairmanships include Aviva, 3i plc, Anglian Water Group, London First and British Energy.
He was awarded a CBE in 2001 and holds a law degree from the University of Cambridge.
Charlie CornishCharlie Cornish was appointed group chief executive in October 2010.
Prior to joining MAG, he was managing director of Utility Solutions, the commercial business of United Utilities (UU) with operations in the UK, the Middle East, Australia, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia and the Philippines and was a director of UU PLC.
Previously he worked for a number of manufacturing and service companies including Plessey Telecommunications, British Aerospace and ABF.
Ken O’TooleKen O’Toole was appointed chief development officer in 2020.
Prior to this he was chief executive of London Stansted Airport and before that chief executive of Manchester Airport.
He spent six years with Ryanair, initially as head of revenue management and latterly as director of new route eevelopment.
A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, his previous experience includes Musgrave Group, an Irish and UK based retailer, and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Jenny CochraneJenny Cochrane was appointed general counsel and company secretary in April 2020.
She has been with MAG since 2013 having previously held the position of legal director with responsibility for the legal function across the group.
Prior to joining MAG she worked in private practice and specialised in corporate finance.
Jan BramallJan Bramall joined MAG in 2018 as group finance director, prior to taking on the role as chief financial officer in December 2020.
She previously held VP finance roles across listed International business including JCI and Tyco with responsibility across Europe, North America, South America and Canada.
She qualified with PwC and specialised in corporate finance and M&A transactions post qualification.
Tim HawkinsTim Hawkins leads the group’s strategy, public affairs, external communications and CSR teams. He has been with MAG since 2013.
Prior to that, Mr Hawkins was a part of London Stansted Airport’s senior leadership team with responsibility for economic regulation and long term planning.
He led the airport’s engagement with the CAA during the regulatory review which led to Stansted being de-regulated.
Before joining Stansted in 2011, he held a number of positions with BAA, working on a wide range of regulatory, competition and policy issues.
Nicholas WoodsNicholas Woods joined MAG in 2016 to lead technology for the £1bn Manchester Transformation Programme.
He was promoted to chief technology officer in 2017 and was subsequently appointed CIO in September 2018.
Prior to joining MAG, he worked in consulting for Accenture, where he specialised in the delivery of complex systems integration and transformation programmes.
He studied computer science and management science at the University of Edinburgh.
Martin JonesMartin Jones is CEO of CAVU – MAG’s airport products and services company, formed out of MAG US and MAG-O
Prior to this, Mr Jones was CEO of MAG USA, where he led the opening of multiple Escape Lounges, and the acquisition of Airport Parking Reservations, ParkSleepFly.com, ShuttleFinder.com and AirportParking.com.
He also held role as commercial director and deputy CEO for Manchester Airport Group at London Stansted Airport.
Before joining MAG, he was UK sales director for Vodafone UK, and also spent 15 years at Marks and Spencer.
Paul WillisPaul Willis is the chief development officer for Manchester Airports Group.
He joined MAG in 2015 and has held several senior positions including group engineering services director, and most recently strategy and group aviation director.
Mr Willis has over 30 years’ experience in airport management and prior to joining MAG, was the global head of aviation for Arcadis where he held a number management posts, including technical advisor to Abu Dhabi International Airport for the development of Terminal 3 and programme director for the construction of of Lima Airport, Peru.
Non-executive directorsThe group’s non-executive directors include:
Cllr Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council Manoj Mehta, executive director (Europe) at IFM Investors Vanda Murray, chair of Marshalls plc Robert Napier, former chairman of the Met Office Christian Seymour, head of infrastructure (Europe) for IFM Investors Catherine Schefer, chief operating officer of global operations for Stantec Jon Wragg, previously held leadership positions at Superdry, Asda WalMart and The Very Group Cllr John Blundell, member of Rochdale Borough CouncilREAD NEXT:
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