National carrier Oman Air has appointed Philippe Georgiou as the airline's new chief officer of Corporate Affairs. He will also be the official spokesperson for the airline.

A veteran in the region, Philippe will response for marketing, corporate communications and media, customer relations, emergency response and Government relations and legal affairs.

Philippe has lived in the Middle East most of his life and has 30 years of experience that spans technical, operational, marketing, business development, public relations and general management, the airline said in a statement.

He joined Cadbury Schweppes in 1977 and, heading their operations unit, helped their expansion plans into the Near East and the Gulf.

At Coca-Cola as from 1990, Philippe led the business unit that implemented the re-entry of the company in the Mena after an absence of 25 years.

Also heading their PR unit for the Middle East region, Philippe developed all the company’s issues and crisis programs, consumer response systems, employee communications, government relations management as well as its corporate social responsibility drive.

As a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, Philippe also was the main interface with the local and international media.

On his new role, Philippe said, “I am very happy to be joining Oman Air, which has tremendous opportunities that can be capitalised on. My main priority would be to support the aggressive expansion plan of the airline by providing expanded corporate support and enhanced communications, internally and externally.'

'Our contribution to the airline’s drive as it moves forward with its objectives ultimately aims at sustaining and enhancing Oman Air’s image and reputation.'

'The welcoming atmosphere one encounters as soon one sets foot at the Muscat (or Seebl Muscat) International Airport and the motivation one finds all around greatly validate both the direction we are taking and the goals we pursue,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service