Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Saadia Zahidi has been appointed by its Board of Directors to the position of Director General from November 1, 2026. Zahidi will be IATA’s ninth Director General and the first woman appointed to hold the position.
She joins IATA from the World Economic Forum (WEF) where she is a Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board. Willie Walsh, IATA’s current Director General, will conclude his duties on 31 July 2026.
The IATA Board of Directors has appointed Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Services, as Interim Director General for the intervening period.
Saadia’s long experience at the World Economic Forum will enhance and strengthen IATA as the voice of the world’s airlines. Global air transport is a trillion-dollar industry that has and continues to change the world for the better.
Saadia’s appointment comes at a moment of significant change in the international environment. Technology and geopolitics, among others, will reshape the industry in the future and Saadia brings the right skills to effectively articulate what our industry needs to continue connecting people and economies safely, efficiently and sustainably. She’ll bring a fresh perspective to IATA that will grow its support for the airline industry on the foundations of IATA’s well-established technical, financial and data capabilities, the press statement said.
Zahidi spent more than two decades at the World Economic Forum, where she served as Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board.
She founded and currently heads its Centre for the New Economy and Society. Previously, she led the WEF’s Global Communications Group, Global Programming Group, and WEF’s engagement with academics, civil society, and international organizations. Zahidi founded and co-authors WEF’s Future of Jobs Reports, the Future of Growth Reports, the Global Gender Gap Reports, and Chief Economist Outlooks.
She has served on the UN Secretary-General’s panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment and the European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group.
She is also the author of Fifty Million Rising, tracking the rise of working women in the Muslim world..
