SriLankan-sponsored IATA Global Aviation Human Capital Summit 2012 next week

The SriLankan Airlines-sponsored second International Air Transport Association (IATA) Global Human Capital Summit, ‘Talent for Tomorrow,’ is scheduled to take place on 13 and 14 November, at the Hilton Colombo.

The two-day symposium will draw the best in global aviation to share and discuss a number of current and significant topics related to the sector. Launched last year, the summit is on its way to becoming an annual event, making it the foremost gathering of key-decision makers from the discipline of human resource management across the aviation sector worldwide.  Over 150 participants will attend this year’s event.

The conference will commence on the morning of November 13th, with a formal opening ceremony attended by the countries’ aviation and related industry leaders. The Chief Guest at the event is the Minister of International Monetary Co-operation and Deputy Minister Finance, Sarath Amunugama, and the Guest of Honour is the Minister of Civil Aviation, Priyankara Jayaratne. Heads of Human Resources of SriLankan and IATA will welcome the arriving delegates.

Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Nishantha Wickramasinghe will deliver the inaugural address, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kapila Chandrasena is set to make a presentation on the ‘Future of SriLankan Airlines as an Emerging Force in South Asia’.

Amunugama will deliver the keynote address, followed by a round table discussion on the Global Economic Outlook and Implications for the air transport industry by Chief Economist IATA, Brian Pearce and Chief People and Change Officer Aer Lingus, Michael Grealy.

Second on the agenda is the topic of Securing Critical Aviation Manpower for Global Growth and Insights from Related Industries under the guidance of Senior Partner and Managing Director – ASEAN and Human Capital Regional Business Leader AsiaPac of Mercer, Su-Yen Wong and Fermin Diez respectively. The first session will conclude with a discourse on Legal Issues for Global Aviation by Mireia Sabaté and Jennifer van Dale, Partners of Baker & McKenzie.

Day one shall wind up with a special, ‘Chairman’s Banquet,’ hosted by SriLankan in honour of the visiting delegates. The guest list for the night includes distinguished personalities of the local and international aviation sector and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Priyankara Jayaratne, as the Chief Guest.

The second and last day of the summit will commence with a panel discussion on Success Stories in Airline Management led by Head of Human Resources, Royal Jordanian Rana Sweiss; Vice President Human Resources and Admin, EL AL Reuven Virovnik; Sr. Vice President Human Resources, Icelandair Svali Bjorgvinsson and People Director, AirAsia X Nadiah Tan Abdullah.

Next on the agenda is a panel discussion on Talent for Tomorrow: Challenges and Opportunities featuring speakers Sr. Vice President Group Learning and Development, Emirates Brendan Noonan; Senior Manager:  Human Resources, Air Traffic and Navigation Services Hanalie Drewes and Vice President, Human Resources Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa (EMEA), FedEx Express Jerry Tims.

The SriLankan Head of Human Resource, Pradeepa Kekulawala, will deliver a final presentation on the topic of ‘Flying through Turbulent Times: Leveraging the People Factor’. A question and answer session will follow with the participation of the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Commercial, G.T. Jeyaseelan and Head of Finance, Yasantha Dissanayake, of SriLankan.

A very significant milestone of the 2012 conference is the formal establishment of the ‘IATA Human Capital Council,’ initiated with the objective of facilitating human development initiatives for the future of aviation.

All foreign delegates will get to experience the city on a Cultural Exposure Tour organised by SriLankan the following day as means of promoting the country, its resources and destinations. This year also marks 100 years of aviation in Sri Lanka, and hosting the conference on the eve of this anniversary will be a significant commemoration of the occasion.

SriLankan Airlines is partnered by Sim Industries; Airbus Industrie; Standard Chartered Bank; Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Aitken Spence Travels & Tours as key promoters and sponsors.