The African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) has appointed a new leadership team for the next five years. Alcinda Pereira was elected chairperson and Gavin Kiggen was elected vice-chairperson and treasurer during a meeting held at EBACE in Geneva. Both appointments took effect last month.

The association’s first female chairperson, Pereira brings extensive experience as a co-founder of BestFly Angola, a business aviation operator and ground handling service. At BestFly, Pereira guided the company’s expansion from operations in Angola into Portugal, Aruba, United Arab Emirates, Cabo Verde and Austria.

Kiggen brings more than 34 years’ aviation experience to his new role. After completing military service, he started his aviation career at South African Airways in 1989 where he studied as an aircraft engineer. After flying for many of South Africa’s major commercial airlines – including British Airways/Comair, Safair and Nationwide Airlines – in 2008, he joined ExecuJet’ s Flight Operations Department as Aviation Services manager. In 2014, he was promoted to Flight Operations director – Africa, then director of Aviation for Africa and, three years later, vice president, Africa.

Nick Fadugba, outgoing AfBAA chairperson and CEO, African Aviation Services said he was pleased to hand over to a strong leadership team, which should drive the association to greater heights. Fadugba added: “Vice-chairperson and treasurer, Mr JP Fourie, executive director of NAC, South Africa and I are pleased to leave the association in a much better financial position than we found it in May 2018 and to have been able to restructure and reposition AfBAA for future growth.”

The three key focus areas have been to build relationships with African and international civil aviation authorities; to grow AfBAA’s membership and to improve aviation safety in Africa’s business and general aviation industry.

Building closer links with the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), which promotes the IS-BAH and IS-BAO air safety programmes, has been a major goal, he said. Both Fadugba and Fourie will remain as directors on the AfBAA board.

Formed in 2012 as a not-for-profit association, AfBAA promotes the benefits of business aviation for Africa’s economic development and prosperity.