Contact: Dan Hubbard, (202) 783-9360, dhubbard@nbaa.org
Washington, DC, May 6, 2015 – Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); Marjeta Jager, head of cabinet of European Commissioner Violeta Bulc, responsible for transport and Francois Longchamp, state counselor of the Canton of Geneva, will be the Opening General Session speakers at this year’s European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2015) to be held from May 19 to 21 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ky has more than 24 years of experience in civil aviation, and is a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and the Civil Aviation Engineering School in France. He also holds degrees in economics from the University of Toulouse and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ky held several managerial positions in the French Civil Aviation Authority and in Eurocontrol. He joined the European Commission in 2004 to work on the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program, where he was in charge of the air traffic management modernization program. He has served as the Executive Director of EASA since 2013.
Jager joined the European Commission in 2005 as the director for security in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy and Transport, and later was responsible for international energy and transport files, coordination and passengers’ rights. Before joining the European Commission, Jager served in a number of high level public leadership roles for the republic of Slovenia, where among other issues she dealt with Slovenia’s accession to the European Union. She holds bachelor degrees in law and international law and is a barrister.
Longchamp was elected to the Council of State (Geneva) in 2005, and became the leader of the presidential department in 2013. His department has political responsibility for the Geneva International Airport, and he has long championed modernization of the airport and Palexpo convention center. Longchamp holds a law degree and has served in many public administration roles as well as the executive director of Foyer Handicap, a foundation dedicated to rehabilitating people with disabilities, which he helped save from bankruptcy.
“We are very pleased to have these influential leaders at the Opening General Session of EBACE,” said National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen. “EBACE attendees will undoubtedly benefit from the breadth of experience these individuals will bring to the Opening General Session, which will set the stage for a very successful event.”
“This year’s opening session will offer some very interesting insights from four sides of the table,” said European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) President Brian Humphries. “We’re delighted to have, at EU level, the commission and the safety agency, both talking about important changes in 2015; whilst, at national level, we’ll hear the perspective of the council of state of Geneva. At a time when everyone is looking to reboot the industry after what has been a long pause in economic momentum over the past years, this will be an exceptionally useful exchange.”
EBACE2015 is jointly sponsored by NBAA and EBAA, and will be held at Geneva’s Palexpo convention center and adjoining Geneva International Airport. The annual event attracts more than 12,000 attendees and more than 400 exhibitors.
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Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 10,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.
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