Meet the Winning Team

Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines in January 2011. He began his career at Ethiopian in 1985 as Transportation Agent and has held a number of senior leadership positions in different divisions in the Airline including; Ethiopian Cargo, Area Offices and Sales & Marketing.

Mr. Tewolde also serves as a member of the High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport with United Nations, Chief Executive Board member of Star Alliance, Board member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlink Advisory Council. Additionally, he is an Executive Committee member of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), a member of Board of Directors of Africa Travel Association (ATA) and Board of Directors of Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO).

In his role as CEO, Mr. Tewolde has been a multi award winner including ‘African CEO of the Year’, ‘Best African Business Leader’, ‘The Airline Strategy Award for Regional Leadership’ and ‘The Most Gender Focused CEO Award’.

He earned his B.A. Degree in Economics from the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Open University in the United Kingdom. He has received Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa from Addis Ababa University on 13 July 2019.

Mr. Mesfin joined Ethiopian in 1984 as Associate Engineer and progressed through the ladder and served in supervisorial and managerial positions in the technical areas. In 1997 and 1999, he was appointed as Director Operations & Technical Systems Support and Chief Information Officers respectively. In 2006, he was assigned as Vice President Maintenance and Engineering.

Currently, he is serving Ethiopian as Chief Operating Officer since November 01, 2010.

He holds BSC and MSC Degree in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa University. He also holds MSc. Degree of Master of Business Administration from the Open University of UK.

Mr. Meseret joined Ethiopian as Senior Accountant in the Finance Division in 1986. He has been serving the airline in various managerial streams including Supervisor at Disbursement, Supervisor at General Accounting, Manager General Accounting, Director Financial Accounting, Director Management Accounting, Vice President Finance and as Acting Chief Financial Officer. Currently, he is serving as Chief Financial Officer as of October 2017. 

He has also served as Director Finance and Strategic Planning for ASKY Airlines.  He holds a BA Degree in Accounting from Asmara University and Master of Business Administration from London Open University.

Mr. Esayas joined Ethiopian in July 1991 as Transit Agent in Marketing Division. He has been serving in various managerial positions including Manager Space Control & Yield Country Manager Greece, Nigeria and Germany.

In November 2010, Mr. Esayas was also appointed as Vice President of Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics to head all the cargo operation. In January 2012, he was appointed as SVP Global Sales. Currently, he is serving Ethiopian as Managing Director Ethiopian International Services since October 01, 2013. He holds BSc. Degree in Mathematics from Addis Ababa University.

He also earned Degree of Master of Business Administration from UK Open University.

Mr. Laeke Taddese has begun his career with Ethiopian in 1999 as Jr. Application Analyst and has served a number of positions as Senior Application Analyst, Mgr. Galileo System Support, Head Galileo Ethiopia and Dir. Commercial Systems & Galileo. He became Chief Information Officer in September 2015.

He graduated from Addis Ababa University with a B.Sc. Degree in Mathematics.

Mr. Fitsum Abady began his career with Ethiopian in 1995 as Transportation Agent and has held a number of leadership positions in a number of divisions in the Airline including; Ethiopian Cargo, Area Offices and Sales and Marketing.

Currently, he is serving Ethiopian as Managing Director Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services since January 01, 2014.

He graduated from Addis Ababa University with a BSC Degree in Biology. He earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Indian ITM University.

Mr. Zelalem Tsehaye joined Ethiopian in 1998 as a Junior Aircraft Technician after graduating from Ethiopian Aviation Academy. He has been serving in various managerial positions including Supervisor Line Maintenance, Technical Manager ROME Station, Manager B757/B737 Scheduled Maintenance, Director Aircraft Base Maintenance and A/MD ET MRO SVCS.

He is a graduate of the Ethiopian Aviation Academy in Aircraft Maintenance; and holds Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Open University of London(UK) and Master’s Degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Addis Ababa University.

He is Type rated and certified on B787/B777/B767/B757/B737/F-50 aircraft. Currently he is serving Ethiopian as Managing Director Ethiopian Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Services.

Mr. Solomon joined Ethiopian in 1979 as a Junior Aircraft Mechanic after graduating from Ethiopian Aviation Academy. He has been serving in various managerial positions including Manager Market Research & Analysis, Area Manager Uganda, Scandinavia, Kenya & Seychelles, and South Korea. Director Service Quality Management, and VP Customer Services.

Currently he is serving Ethiopian as Managing Director Ethiopian Aviation Academy since July 26, 2016.

He holds BA degree in Management and Public Administration from Addis Ababa University.

Mr. Getaneh Adera joined the then Ethiopian Airports Enterprise in August 2008 as junior Electrical Engineer and has since progressed through the ladder holding various technical and managerial positions including Team Leader of Airport facilities, Manager of Engineering and Planning, Director of Engineering and Facilities Maintenance.

Currently he is A/CEO of Ethiopian Airports since April 2019.

Mr. Getaneh holds BSc degree from Addis Ababa University in Electrical and Computer Engineering and MSc degree from The University of Nottingham, UK, in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Mr. Lemma joined Ethiopian on September 06, 1999 as Marketing Agent. He has been serving in various managerial positions including Area Manager Burkina Faso, Malaysia and France. In December 2017, Mr. Lemma was appointed as Director Global Call Center.

Currently, he is serving Ethiopian as A/Managing Director Ethiopian International Services since September 01, 2019.

He holds BSC Degree in Civil Engineering from Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology and MSC in Geotechnical Engineering from Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Technology.

Mr. Solomon Yadeta began his career at Ethiopian in 1995 as transportation agent and has held a number of leadership positions in a number of divisions including Addis Ababa Airport passenger section, Ramp section and Cargo.

He also served in different area/ field offices such as station Manager Lagos, Traffic and Sales manager Delhi and Area Manager Nigeria.

In October 2015 he was appointed as Regional Director Salas and Services Middle East and Asia until he is appointed as A/MD Ethiopian ground services in Sep 2019.

He is a holder of Business administration degree from Addis Ababa University and MBA from Walden University USA.

Capt. Yohannes joined Ethiopian as a pilot after he has graduated from Ethiopian Aviation Academy in 1984. He has been serving in various positions including Chief Pilot on 767/757 in 2004, Manager Training and Standard in 2005, Director Flying and Training in 2007 and Air Crew Program Manager in 2010. Currently he is serving as VP Flight Operations since May 2015.

He is holder of a Diploma from Pilot Training School, Diploma from Addis Ababa University and 2nd year complete in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa University.

Mrs. Rahel Assefa joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1988 as a college trainee in the Sales Department after graduating from the Addis Ababa University in Management & Public Administration.

She worked in various Managerial positions within the Airline such as Sales, Commercial Planning, Revenue Management, as Regional Representative (U.K) and she is currently serving Ethiopian as Vice President Marketing the position she is holding since October 2013.

In February 2015, she was named among the Worlds’ 30 Most Compelling Women in Travel by the U.S based Premier Travel Magazine.

Mr. Busera joined Ethiopian in 1985 as a Space Control Agent and progressed through the ladder and has held a number of senior leadership positions including Director of Marketing and Sales Operations, Area Offices and Vice President of Commercial.

In September 2009, Mr. Busera was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of ASKY Airlines, Ethiopian second hub in Lome’ (Togo). In September 2013, he was assigned as Chief Commercial Officer. In March 2019, he was assigned as VP Strategic Planning and Alliances, the position he currently holds.

He graduated from Addis Ababa University with a B.A. Degree in Economics.

Mr. Genanaw began his career with Ethiopian in 2008 as Assistant General Counsel position and progressed through the ladder to become VP Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretariat in September 2014.

He graduated from Addis Ababa University with a Bachelor of Laws. He earned his Master of Laws from Peking University.