Francesco Violante

Francesco Violante, CEOChief Executive Officer

Francesco Violante has been CEO of SITA since 2006. Under his leadership, SITA has undergone a dramatic transformation which has seen the merging of previously separate entities into one company which won more than US$ 1 billion worth of new business for the first time in 2006 and repeated this achievement in 2007 and 2008.

His vision is to strengthen SITA's position at the heart of the air transport industry and to scale new heights in terms of delivering innovation and cost reductions. To this end, he initiated the creation of the SITA Lab as a world class R&D facility addressing industry challenges.

Francesco leads a company of approximately 4,500 employees and consolidated revenues of $1.47 billion in 2008. SITA is the specialist provider of integrated IT business solutions and communication services for the world's air transport industry with a presence in 220 countries and territories.

Previously he spent three successful years as CEO and Managing Director of SITA INC (Information Networking Computing) during which time he guided the IT solutions business of SITA through a period of major strategic change. Among his major successes was the strategic move into outsourcing which led directly to the two largest deals in the company's history to date.

He is also chairman of the Boards of the SITA subsidiaries OnAir and CHAMP Cargosystems, two ground-breaking industry initiatives which he brought to fruition as SITA INC CEO. OnAir is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity. CHAMP Cargosystems is the world's only IT company totally dedicated to air cargo.

A hallmark of his leadership has been his ability to forge new alliances for the company with prestigious industry partners such as Airbus, Cargolux, Oracle and Orange Business Services. He also embarked on a policy of acquisitions which have included Vancouver-based SMG Technologies, Dublin-based Eland and Sydney-based CPS, which have given a strategic edge to the company's portfolio of high tech solutions targeting passenger travel.

His strategic vision for simplifying travel and transportation is motivated by industry concern for lower costs, asset optimization and improved passenger experience.

Francesco is a computer science graduate with a solid background in IT and Telecommunications. He started his career at Digital as a software specialist and rose through the ranks on the way to becoming Vice President for the Telco Industry World-Wide and then Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Europe.

Subsequently, he became Chief Information Officer with Telecom Italia where he was responsible for all IT services and IT companies, employing 12.000 people. While with Telecom Italia, he was also Chairman of the Board of Telesoft, the telecommunication software specialist, and Chairman of the Board of Finsiel, the largest IT software and service company in Italy at that time.

Francesco then joined EDS as Regional Vice President for southern Europe with responsibility for 4,500 employees and annual revenues of Euro 700 million. While there he was responsible for a number of large outsourcing contracts.

For six years he was a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of IONA, a middleware software company which was based in Ireland and was listed on NASDAQ before it was acquired by PROGRESS during 2008.

An Italian national, Francesco is married with two children. He is based at SITA's global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.