Prof. Anthony Kila of the Centre Director at the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS) and the chief operating officer of Ibom Air, Mr. George Uriesi are expected to deliver major papers at the 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC).
The conference which holds under the theme ‘Sunset Airports: Economic and safety implications’ is slated for July 28, 2022 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
Chairman of the conference committee, Mr. Chinedu Eze, said in a statement that the two key papers which focus on passengers’ and airlines’ experiences at the nation’s airports, would serve as guide to the Nigerian aviation industry, especially on the full utilisation of aerodromes.
Kila, according to the statement, would deliver the first paper entitled ‘Passenger experience in daylight airports’ while Uriesi, on the other hand, would speak on ‘Maximising runways utilisation.’
Kila is a Jean Monnet professor of strategy and development.
He is a provost at the Washington Institute of Strategic and Developmental Studies and also a director of the Cambridge African Roundtable and the CIAPS.
He is also an international director of studies at the Enterprise Coordination & Approval Processing System (ECAPS) in Cambridge and a regular analyst and commentator on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Kila is also an essayist whose columns and essays are published in various news outlets nationally and internationally.
He studied at Cambridge, London, Perugia and Suffolk. He graduated with first class degree and later specialised as a scholar of political anthropology.
A vice chancellor and Heritage Prize winner, he has taught in various colleges and universities in Cambridge, Ipswich, Lecce, London, Perugia and Siena.
He worked as a banker in the City of London and later as a project and management consultant.
He is an expert of internationalisation and joint ventures and he has worked on various international projects across the globe.
Anthony currently sits on a variety of boards and works with companies in various sectors including aviation, agriculture, finance, construction, healthcare, ICT, media, public affairs and security.
For his part, Uriesi’s work career spans 31 years, with over 27 spent in the aviation industry.
He began with the defunct ADC Airlines in Nigeria and proceeded to South Africa where he spent some years in FMCG as logistics manager at Procter & Gamble South Africa.
He returned to aviation, joining the South African Civil Aviation Authority, where he became the general manager, aviation safety.
Thereafter, he joined the Airports Company of South Africa, where he was made general manager of the Cape Town International Airport, which he completely rebuilt for the World Cup in 2010.
Later, he was appointed managing director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in 2011 for a brief period.
Uriesi has played active roles in the aviation industry as a member of the International Air Services Council of South Africa and a member of the Economic Regulating Council of Airports and Air Traffic Control of South Africa.
The Ibom Air COO was also the vice president, Africa Region of Airports Council International.
He holds a BA (Hons) degree from the Bendel State University (now Ambrose Alli University), Ekpoma, as well as several professional qualifications, including a diploma in aviation safety management from the University of Southern California, airport executive leadership programme of Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, senior civil aviation management programme of the Singapore Civil Aviation Academy, executive leadership programme, and senior airline executives programme, Cranfield University, England.
The conference would be chaired by the chairman of Finchglow Travels, Mr. Bankole Bernard.
Finchglow Travels is a subsidiary of Finchglow Holdings.
Bernard is also the chairman of the Airline and Passenger Joint Committee (APJC) and the immediate-past-president of the National Association of the Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA), the umbrella body for the over 6,000 travel agencies operating in Nigeria.
Bankole is a member of the Hospitality and Tourism Committee of the Institute of Directors (IoD), member, SKAL International and member, the Nigeria-South African Chamber of Commerce (NSACC).
