JAMES HOGAN
CEO, EITHAD AIRWAYS
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, announced the appointment of James Hogan as its new CEO last month. Along with Hogan from Gulf Air, comes James Rigney, who will be vice president - finance at Etihad.

Hogan joins Etihad following a distinguished career in the airline industry during which he has played key restructuring and brand-building roles, culminating in his tenure as president and chief executive of Gulf Air. Hogan will take on executive responsibility for Etihad’s operations.

Says H H Sheikh Ahmed al Nahyan, chairman, Etihad Airways, “Hogan combines extensive experience in the airline industry with in-depth understanding of the nuances, imperatives as well as opportunities inherent in the business climate in this region. We believe he is the right person to drive the business forward and realise Etihad’s enormous potential alongside the finest airlines.”

NICK SMITH
CEO, THE WAVE
Nick Smith has been appointed as the CEO of The Wave, one of Oman’s leading tourism and beachfront residential developments. Smith has spent the last 25 years in the real estate business in the UK running large organisations like Beazer Homes and niche companies such as Charles Church and CDC2020. He has been involved with developing sizeable mixed-use communities and water front schemes. A qualified urban designer and town planner, his interests are the generation of value through design and creating a sense of place.

ABUDULLAH AL SHIDI
CFO, THE WAVE
The Wave Muscat has appointed Abdulla Khamis al Shidi as its CFO. An MBA from the University of Phoenix in Arizona, Shidi has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial sector. He started his career with the Central Bank of Oman in Muscat. He later moved on to CBO’s Sohar branch. In 1990 he joined Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and looked after various assignments in its finance, contracts and procurement departments.

R K MEHTA
FINANCE DIRECTOR, ELECTRICITY HOLDING COMPANY
Electricity Holding Company (EHC) has appointed R K Mehta as its finance director. Mehta brings to the table 25 years of rich and varied experience. He started his career in 1977 in Kolkata and in Oman, he was finance director with OAMC before joining EHC. “I am delighted to be joining this company at such an exciting time during the electricity privatisation process. I hope I can use my experience to the full benefit of the employees within this sector.”

PAUL STARRS
COMMERCIAL MANAGER - MiddlE East & Pakistan, BRITISH AIRWAYS
Since he was appointed, Starrs has spearheaded a new organisational structure for the region in an effort to streamline operations. “Although this is my first position in the Middle East, I plan to utilise what worked well in my previous posts and apply these principles to our selling model in the region whilst ensuring we tailor our operations to the specific requirements of this area.” During his seven years with BA, Starrs has held various positions in the sales department.