Kathleen Tan
| Kathleen Tan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Singapore |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Occupation | CEO. AAE Travel |
Kathleen Tan is a name synonymous with the amazing story of AirAsia’s growth and success. She is a dynamic business leader, opportunistic marketer, and innovative thinker who has helped to build AirAsia while serving as Group CEO and Co-Founder Tony Fernandes’s right-hand woman responsible for top-line performance and overseeing up to fifteen departments.
Her most outstanding achievement has been driving the commercial success of Asia’s biggest low cost carrier in which she successfully transformed the Asian aviation landscape. Under her tenure, AirAsia has become a globally renowned brand, culminating in being named “World’s Best Low Cost Airline” by Skytrax a record four years running, and a financial powerhouse delivering double-digit revenue growth annually.
That AirAsia now has the largest network in Southeast Asia, a tremendous marketing prowess, a reputation for innovation, Asia’s biggest airline social network presence, and a range of partnerships and ancillary income streams owes tremendously to Kathleen’s leadership in her eight years at the company. Her achievements have garnered her major awards and accolades and respect among the airline and online travel industries, including being named a Top 10 Most Influential Woman Leader in Travel and Marketer of the Year by WebInTravel and being called an “aviation legend” by Baidu, China’s largest search engine.
In January 2013, Kathleen was appointed as CEO for AAE Travel, the joint venture between AirAsia and Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company. Kathleen’s main responsibility is to position AAE Travel as a leading online travel company in Asia by building the Expedia brand and growing the AirAsiaGo business. Kathleen, who has a deep understanding of the Asian markets has been sitting on the board of directors since the formation of the joint venture. In May 2013, Kathleen took the Expedia brand to new heights when she appeared in the Asian edition of The Apprentice, one of the most successful reality TV series in the world. The programme which premiered in 21 Asian countries, saw Kathleen taking on roles of the CEO of Expedia Asia as well as ‘The Advisor’ to ‘The Boss’ Tony Fernandes.
References
"Tony Fernandes to lean on Kathleen Tan" The Economic Times, April 2013