ACI Asia-Pacific Board Announces New Director General

The Board of Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific announced today it has appointed Mr. Stefano Baronci as Director General for Asia-Pacific. Mr. Baronci currently serves as Director of Economics at ACI World in Montreal, Canada. He will take up his new position in Hong Kong in December 2019.
 
Mr. Baronci, a native of Italy, has almost 20 years of analytical and representational experience at national and international level in the aviation sector, in both airport and airline industries. He started his career at ACI Europe in Brussels, Belgium as a Senior Policy Manager. He then gained substantial experience at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) dealing with the Single European Sky (SES). He served as Director General of the Association of Italian Airport Operators, before joining ACI World in Montreal, Canada. There, Mr. Baronci made significant contributions to improving stakeholder dialogue, applying an evidence-based model of advocacy. His strategic approach affected a paradigm shift in future reforms of the global slot allocation system by including airport operators along with airlines and slot coordinators. Mr. Baronci holds an Executive MBA from Warwick University in the United Kingdom and graduated with a Law degree from La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy.
 
Mr. Baronci replaces Ms. Patti Chau who announced in April she was stepping down. She said, “It has been my privilege serving as Regional Director for the last eight years. Since its establishment fifteen years ago, the ACI Asia-Pacific office has worked diligently to gain the trust of its members, national governments as well as regional and international organizations. With growth in this region showing no signs of slowing down, Stefano is in an ideal position to take ACI and its members to new heights.”
 
ACI Asia-Pacific President, Mr. Seow Hiang Lee said, “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Patti for her contribution. Under her leadership, ACI Asia-Pacific has developed strong relations and partnerships with international organizations, senior levels of national governments and the various ACI regions. I wish her the very best in her future endeavours.
 
“I congratulate Stefano on his appointment as Director General. His previous experience of running a national airport association, working in both the Europe and World offices of ACI as well as experiencing the aviation industry from the airline perspective were instrumental in our decision to appoint him. The Board looks forward to working with him to continue pursuing the interests of our airport members and promoting excellence in the industry.”
 
Mr. Baronci said, “I am honored to serve our airport members and business partners in the fastest-growing region in the world. Building on the results achieved under Patti Chau’s leadership, my aspiration is to contribute to the progress of the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern airports for the benefit of our sector and the people they serve. I am a strong advocate of close dialogue with institutional stakeholders at local level and through organic growth of Airports Council International Asia-Pacific.”
 
Ms. Chau will remain in her role through Mr. Baronci’s arrival to ensure a seamless handover with the new Director General.