AirTanker Services (ATrS) announces the appointment of Colin Wood to the role of Managing Director.
He takes over the position from outgoing MD Keith Filbey who retires on 16th January 2017 after having played a pivotal role in the development of ATrS over the past decade.
In a career that has spanned both the military, public and private sectors, Colin served for 20 years with the RAF, both in the UK and overseas, and brings extensive commercial experience to the position. He has held senior leadership roles with UK airports operator BAA, Transport for London, and latterly with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, where his most recent positions were those of Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive.
He joins ATrS at an exciting time. The business achieved a significant milestone on the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme at the end of September 2016 by reaching Full Service Date on time and on budget. The FSTA programme is the largest Private Finance Initiative of its kind in the defence sector, under which AirTanker has delivered 14 A330-200 aircraft, which are known as Voyager when in RAF service. The fleet of nine core and five surge fleet aircraft operate in both the military and civil leasing sectors.
A key priority for Colin will be to build on the success of the Voyager programme and the growing presence of ATrS in the civil leasing market. He said: “I am delighted to be joining ATrS at an important moment as we look ahead to the next phase the FSTA contract. The business has forged an excellent reputation by delivering consistently on the Voyager programme, which is bringing a new level of capability to the UK’s armed forces.
“I want to ensure that Voyager continues to be ‘best in class’ in the service it provides to the RAF, and I also look forward to securing future opportunities for our Leasing business.”