November 4, 2015 – SITA has announced that CEO Francesco Violante will step down in the second half of 2016 after more than 13 years at the helm of the air transport IT company. SITA is looking back fondly at Violante’s leadership, during which he merged previously separate entities into a single company, touching every aspect of the travel journey with airlines, through airports and on board aircraft.
Dr Omar Jefri, chair of the SITA Board and EVP of corporate management & regulations at Saudi Arabian Airlines said: “Over the past decade Francesco has positioned SITA as a leader in IT technology in the air transport industry (ATI) and has successfully steered the organization during a time when technology is rapidly changing the way we travel. On behalf of the SITA Board, I would like to thank Francesco for his dedication and for his vast contribution to the industry. The Board looks forward to his continued strong leadership until his successor is named.”
Violante’s vision was to strengthen SITA’s position at the heart of the ATI by promoting solutions to address community issues, as well as specific customer needs. He is credited with transforming SITA from a pure network-based company to one that provides a complete portfolio of IT solutions for airlines, airports and government agencies across the globe. During his tenure, SITA has achieved a solid financial position with practically no debts and consolidated revenues of US$1.7 billion in 2014, achieving year-on-year incremental growth, despite some challenging times over the last decade in the aviation sector.
A global search for Violante’s successor is currently under way.
