Siza Mzimela

Sizakele Petunia Mzimela, known as Siza Mzimela, is credited as the first black woman to start an airline.[1] She is the founder and Chief executive officer of Fly Blue Crane, a start-up airline which launched on 1 September 2015.[2] She was listed as one of Forbes magazine's most powerful women in 2011.[3]

Career

Mzimela joined the South African Airways (SAA) national airline in January 1996 as a research analyst.[3] She subsequently headed global sales and SAA's Voyager loyalty programme, serving as CEO from 1 April 2010 until 8 October 2012.[2][4] She has also served as the first female member of the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association, based in Miami, Florida, USA.[5]

She was appointed interim CEO of South African Express in April 2017,[6] which was forced into business rescue[7] on 28 April 2020 by its creditors.[8]

On 1 April 2020, Mzimela joined Transnet as CEO of its freight rail division.[7]

Fly Blue Crane
Fly Blue Crane Embraer ERJ 145 at OR Tambo International Airport a couple of weeks after the launch of the airline in September 2015.

Fly Blue Crane was launched on 1 September 2015 by Mzimela and two ex-SAA colleagues, Jerome Simelane and Theunis Potgieter.[9] One year later, it has grown to employ over 100 people.[10] Mzimela said at the launch of Fly Blue Crane that she hopes to expand the airline to include routes to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[1]

Fly Blue Crane became insolvent in 2016; operations were suspended on 3 February 2017.[11]

References
  1. Finley, Taryn (2 December 2015). "Meet Siza Mzimela, The First Black Woman To Start An Airline". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. "Sizakele Petunia Mzimela: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. Nsehe, Mfonobong. "The Most Powerful African Women (Part 1)". Forbes. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. "Siza loves giving the big airlines the bird | IOL".
  5. "Spotlight On The Career Of A Pioneering Female African Aviator". AFKInsider. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  6. Sikonathi Mantshantsha (18 April 2017). "Sudden departure of South African Express' Inati Ntshanga adds to uncertainty". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. Khumalo, Sibongile (1 April 2020). "Siza Mzimela joins Transnet as head of freight rail a". News24. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. "SA Express' employees hope to rescue the airline". WorldAirlineNews. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  9. Speckman, Asha. "Entrepreneur: Fly Blue Crane's Siza Mzimela". Financial Mail. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  10. "Meet Siza Mzimela, former SAA CEO and founder of start-up airline Fly Blue Crane". CapeTalk. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  11. Raymond, Nedu (27 August 2020). "Meet Siza Mzimela, the First Black Woman To Start An Airline In South Africa". BuzzSouthAfrica. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.