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Bonza announces five key new hires, ready for take-off in 2022

Bonza has announced several key hires today including its Head of People and Culture, Head of Flying Operations, Head of Airport Operations, Head of Engineering and Maintenance and Head of Finance. 

Bonza has announced several key hires today including its Head of People and Culture, Head of Flying Operations, Head of Airport Operations, Head of Engineering and Maintenance and Head of Finance. 

Bonza, Australia’s new independent low-cost carrier, has also had nearly 4,000 job seekers register their interest in future roles.

“As we get closer to taking flight in 2022, we’re thrilled to be adding several key members of the Bonza team,” says Tim Jordan, CEO of Bonza.

 “We welcome each of them to our team of Bonza legends. They are all experts in their field with best-in-class experience, the right culture fit and a shared focus to create new travel opportunities for ‘Allstralia’.

“We look forward to further growing the team of Bonza legends in the coming weeks and months ahead” added Jordan.

Who’s joining the Bonza team?

Carla Cations
Carla Cations

Carla Cations, Head of People and Culture: As part of the leadership team, Bonza says Carla’s focus will be working across the airline to ensure Bonza delivers the best experience for its people and, in turn, its customers.

Carla joins Bonza in December from Moreton Bay Council (Australia’s third largest local government area) where she led the business partnering, recruitment and onboarding, HR software and project teams to deliver improvements in the employee experience.

Nev Hodges 1
Nev Hodges

Neville Hodges, Head of Flying Operations: Bonza says Neville’s role as Head of Flying Operations spans safety, flight crew, relationships with regulators as well as leading a team that will make a significant contribution to the customer experience.

Neville will join Bonza in January from Air Hong Kong where he has been the Chief Training Captain for the past 12 years. He has also worked with Emirates for 15 years as a Standards Captain, Type Rating Examiner and Line Captain and is now returning home to Australia.

Melissa Wilson
Melissa Wilson

Melissa Wilson, Head of Airport Operations: Melissa joins Bonza from Swissport which included low-cost carrier experience and prior to that was at Air New Zealand for 13 years.

The airline says Melissa, who has already started in the role, is focused on delivering a Bonza experience for customers at the airport – from check-in through to boarding gate and baggage handling.

Mark Davies Head of Engineering MAintenance
Mark Davies

Mark Davies, Head of Engineering and Maintenance: With a steadfast focus on safety and airworthiness, Bonza says Mark’s role is focused on its aircraft including maintenance programs, operational reliability and the resulting customer experience.

Mark joins Bonza from Coulson Aviation Australia where he is Head of Airworthiness and Aircraft Maintenance Control. He has also worked previously for a number of Airlines and Engineering Organisations as a Licensed Aircraft Engineer, Fleet Specialist, and Technical Instructor.

Ellen Pickett
Ellen Pickett

Ellen Pickett, Head of Finance: Bonza says Ellen’s role covers all things finance with a focus on cost control in order to provide savings for customers without compromising on the experience.

Ellen joins Bonza from Superloop as Head of Business Finance Partnering. 

Last month, the airline announced its leadership team including Peter McNally as Chief Operating Officer, Carly Povey as Chief Commercial Officer and Lidia Valenzuela as Chief Financial Officer. 

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