After four and a half years with the company, Andreas Hugener, chief HR Officer of Swissport has decided to step down from his role. Chris Rayner will take over as chief HR Officer and member of the executive leadership Team on October 1.

Andreas Hugener, Swissport‘s Chief HR Officer since February 2017 has decided to step down from his role. He informed the company of his desire several months ago to enable a smooth and seamless handover of his duties. Chris Rayner will take over as chief HR Officer and member of the Executive Leadership Team on October 1. The change at the helm of the HR organisation comes after Andreas and his global team successfully concluded an extensive recruitment effort following the introduction of Swissport’s new global management structure.

“I want to thank Andreas for his four and a half years of service and his tremendous contribution to putting together the new global Swissport management team and driving the transformation of the company. He has provided outstanding support to the Chairman and myself,” says Warwick Brady, president and CEO of Swissport International. “While I regret his departure, I understand and respect the decision. On behalf of the executive team, I wish Andreas the very best for his professional and personal future.”

Rayner will continue to drive the people agenda and strategic HR roadmap. He has over 20 years of senior leadership experience in the travel and services sectors, among others with Compass Group and SSP, with roles in general management and HR. Most recently Chris was CEO SSP for Asia Pacific and Latin America, and prior to that group HR director, SSP for 10 years. He holds a Master’s in philosophy (MPhil) from Revans University.

“I am very pleased to welcome Chris Rayner to Swissport as our new chief HR Officer,” says Warwick Brady, President and CEO Swissport. “He has significant experience in leadership and team development in high volume, international businesses. In our conversations I perceived him as a passionate believer in empowering front-line teams to deliver outstanding customer service. I am certain this will support our ambition to develop Swissport into a highly customer-centric company and to impress our airline customers with exceptional service.”