PATA Appoints Mario Hardy as Chief Operations Officer

Bangkok (Thailand) – November 29, 2013 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has appointed Mr Mario Hardy as Chief Operations Officer, effective January 15, 2014. Based at PATA HQ in Bangkok, Mr Hardy will support CEO Martin Craigs. Mr Hardy has been Chairman of the PATA Foundation since June 2012 and has been at the forefront of the Foundation’s response to tropical storm Haiyan in the Philippines since November 8.

An investor, entrepreneur and senior executive with more than 28 years of combined leadership, corporate development and change management experience, Mr Hardy was Vice President – Asia Pacific of UBM Aviation (OAG) between 1999 and 2013, with postings in Singapore, Beijing and London.

Prior to that he was Head of Group and Charter Sales for Canadian Airlines for 12 years and was based in Vancouver and Montreal.

As COO of PATA, Mr Hardy, a Canadian national, will liaise closely with the CEO and take responsibility for delivering a wide range of internal enhancements to advance PATA’s Next Gen agenda on behalf of its member organizations.

“All of us at PATA are very pleased to welcome Mario on board,” said CEO Martin Craigs. “Mario’s wide-ranging executive skills and long track record in the travel industry will bolster PATA’s internal management processes. With Mario’s appointment, PATA can go up a gear.”

Mr Hardy has worked in Asia for 10 years and has a proven track record in online travel, technology, analytics and data.

“I believe PATA now back at the top table of travel associations,” said Craigs. “With our new Director for China announced this week and Mario’s appointment too, 2014 is shaping up to be a year of innovation and change when the Association can add extra value for its members.”

About PATA
Since its foundation in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a not-for profit membership association, has achieved international acclaim by acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

The Association provides aligned advocacy, leadership and events to its members, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.

Thousands of travel professionals belong to dozens of local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office is in Bangkok.

Media Contact:
PATA Communications
Bangkok Thailand
Tel: +66 2 658 2000
E-mail: Communications@PATA.org
Online newsroom: www.PATA.org/Press