Steven Polmans, Sanjeev Gadhia join TIACA board

June 14, 2019: The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has appointed Steven Polmans and Sanjeev Gadhia as the new chairman and vice chairman. The duo will take charge from July 2019.

Polmans, director cargo and logistics at Brussels Airport Company will take over as chairman, while Gadhia, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Astral Aviation, will become the vice chairman starting next month.

Polmans will take over from Sebastiaan Scholte, CEO of Jan De Rijk Logistics, who will step down on July 1, 2019. Polmans joined the TIACA Board in 2016.

Polmans and Gadhia, working with secretary general Vladimir Zubkov, have pledged to build on the new framework, putting sustainability and diversity issues at the forefront.

“We have some exciting new ideas for the direction TIACA can take to the benefit of our members and for the industry at large, which include a strong focus on sustainability, where we intend to take the lead. Not only is it a great honour to be the next Chairman of TIACA, I very much look forward to continuing this story, this time with Sanjeev by my side. He is not only a great guy, he brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts to TIACA and is respected by many, if not all, in our industry,” said Polmans.

“Representing an airline based in a different region in the world also strengthens again our global footprint as an organisation. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Sebastiaan for his energy and inspiration over the last two years. Under his Chairmanship, we have built the foundation of a strong future for the only organisation, which represents all sectors of the air cargo supply chain,” added Polmans.

Polmans has spent most of his career in aviation, and, for 15 years held management positions, both operational and commercial. He became the first Chairman of Air Cargo Belgium in 2016, a post he still holds.

Gadhia has over two decades of air freight experience, and became the first African member of the TIACA Board in 2017. He founded Nairobi, Kenya-based Astral Aviation, the largest private cargo airline in Eastern Africa, in 2000, and commercial drone operator Astral Aerial Solutions in 2017, which offers humanitarian aid relief and remote monitoring to combat poaching, amongst other solutions.

He is also vice chairman of the African Airline Association (AFRAA)’s Cargo Committee.

“I am very proud to serve as vice chairman and am looking forward to working alongside Steven,” said Gadhia.

“I will aim to ensure that TIACA is even more ‘inclusive’, and has a sustainable and diverse business model. I want to consider how we can better promote diversity so that we can grow the Association so that every member of the air-cargo supply-chain regardless of size, nationality, geography, or gender, can be a part of TIACA," he added.

TIACA has recently secured new partners EVA International and Messe München to deliver its two events, the Executive Summit (ES), and the Air Cargo Forum (ACF). The next ES will take place in Budapest, Hungary from November 19-21, while the next ACF will take place in Miami, Florida, USA, in 2020.