Álex Cruz (businessman)

Álex Cruz de Llano (born 1966) is a Spanish businessman, and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of British Airways.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Cruz and the second or maternal family name is Llano.

Álex Cruz
Born	Álex Cruz de Llano 1966 (age 53–54) Biscay, Spain
Alma mater	Central Michigan University Ohio State University (MSc)
Occupation	Businessman
Employer	British Airways International Airlines Group
Known for	British Airways (BA) American Airlines (AA)
Title	Chairman and CEO of British Airways (2016–present)
Board member of	British Airways Vueling
Children	4

Early life

He was born and grew up in Bilbao, in the Spanish province of Biscay.[1] He studied engineering at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan from 1984–1988.[2] He gained an MSc from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, studying there from 1988–1990.[2] In 1993, he attended an executive education program at Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, while he was working for American Airlines.

Career

He started with American Airlines, working for them in London for five years from 1990–1995. From 1995 to 2000, he worked for Sabre Corporation, a technological division of American Airlines.

Vueling Airbus A320

Vueling

In summer 2006, he became the founding CEO of Clickair, a low-cost airline. This became part of Vueling in July 2009; Spain's second-largest airline with 163 destinations.[3]

British Airways

He joined British Airways in 1998.

In November 2015, he was hired by the CEO of International Airlines Group, Willie Walsh,[4] as the next CEO and chairman of British Airways, to begin in April 2016. International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, also owns Vueling. He succeeded Keith Williams.[5]

In 2016 he left 700 British Airways employees without jobs when he closed down the airline's computer department. He then outsourced their computer systems to the Indian company Tata Consultancy Services, drawing negative comment from a trade unionist.[6]

On the environmental impact of aviation, he said in August 2019 that British Airways and its competitors had to start "thinking about flying in different ways".[7]

In April 2020, during the global collapse in air travel brought along by the COVID-19 pandemic, he told British Airways' staff that he had set out plans to make up to 12,000 of them redundant. Unite the Union decried the move as "heartless", saying "To reject government support but then expect their own staff to pay the cost... is irresponsible, dangerous and destructive".[8]

Personal life

He is married with four children,[9] and lives in North London.[9] He is interested in choral music.[4]

References

1. "Alex Cruz, presidente de Vueling, premio Reconocimiento de Cecot". Expansion.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
2. "Alex Cruz". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
3. "Flight destinations | vueling.com". www.vueling.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
4. Powley, Tanya (1 May 2020). "Alex Cruz, BA boss suffering from altitude sickness". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
5. Davies, Rob (6 October 2015). "British Airways: Alex Cruz to replace Keith Williams as chairman". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
6. Revesz, Rachael (29 May 2017). "BA flight chaos blamed on new CEO's cost-cutting measures". The Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
7. Batchelor, Tom (6 August 2019). "British Airways boss says airlines must 'think about flying in different ways' to reduce environmental impact". The Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
8. Neate, Rupert (28 April 2020). "British Airways plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
9. "Come fly with me - Business - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

Business positions
Preceded by Keith Williams	Chairman and CEO of British Airways 2016–present	Incumbent