Romanian becomes head of world largest airline group Star Alliance

Romanian Calin Rovinescu, who is the president and CEO of Air Canada, was recently named chairman of the Chief Executive Board with Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world. He succeeds Rob Fyfe, CEO Air New Zealand, who held the post for the last two years. In his role as CEB Chairman, Rovinescu will conduct the two annual board meetings and act as the designated spokesperson for the board. Some of Rovinescu's tasks at the helm of the Star Alliance will be strengthening the global network, focusing on providing a seamless travel experience and maintaining the loyalty of customers through superior service and convenience The CEB is the controlling body of Star Alliance, set up in 1997, and each of the 27 member airlines is represented by their respective CEO. Its biggest competitor is Skyteam, where Romanian Tarom is also a member. Star Alliance includes airlines such as Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, among others. Romanian Calin Rovinescu has been working with Air Canada for the last 24 years, after having emigrated to Canada in 1961. He started working with the company first as a lawyer in 1984, when the Canadian state decided to privatize the company. He was appointed president and chief executive officer in 2009, after being Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy. From 2004 until his re-joining Air Canada, he was a Co-founder and Principal of investment bank Genuity Capital Markets. Before 2000, he was the Managing Partner of the law firm Stikeman Elliott in Montreal, where he practiced law for over 20 years. He holds degrees from the universities of Ottawa, Montreal and the McGill University. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Air Canada)