A senior executive of more than 30 years across aviation, construction and retail, Simon Hickey leads the team developing the business and infrastructure for Sydney’s new airport, Western Sydney International.
With a focus on transformational customer experience and big data, Simon approaches the once-in-a-generation challenge of building a greenfield airport determined to set a new benchmark for passengers, airlines and air cargo operators, and inspired by the project purpose as the catalyst for socioeconomic uplift for the people of Western Sydney.
As former chief executive of Qantas International and Freight, Simon led the return to profitability of this global employer of almost 9,000, establishing new network alliances, improving aircraft utilisation, and increasing customer advocacy for the flagship Australian brand.
Bringing together customer experience and data analytics to drive strategies based on human and data centric insights, Simon’s leadership transformed Qantas’ loyalty program from its origins of 20 people in direct marketing to a separate, independent business that is now valued at over $3 billion.
Simon was drawn to the proposition of leading Western Sydney Airport because of the project’s unique opportunity to drive meaningful socioeconomic change in Western Sydney and in doing so, improve quality of life for the people who call the region home.
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