CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2024 – Our Programme

Conor Mullan, Managing Director, Think Research

Mr Conor Mullan is Managing Director of Think Research, the independent ATM and Airport consultancy. Born in Ireland, Conor graduated from the University of Edinburgh in Computer Science and gained a Masters in Operational Research from the University of Strathclyde. Following an early career as a consultant at both NATS (UK) and EUROCONTROL (FR), Conor co-founded Think in 2004 and has since grown it to be a truly global consultancy advising ANSP and airport clients around the world on operational performance, modernisation and digitalisation. He is a recognised expert in the field of Remote and Digital Towers and has been elected three times by industry peers to serve on the CANSO Executive Committee as their Associate Member Representative.

Chris Allan, Director Accounts & Partnerships – Asia Pacific, NATS

As a former Air Traffic Controller with over 25 years of Air Traffic Management experience, Mr Chris Allan has directed, developed and deployed a broad spectrum of innovative solutions for international airports, Air Navigation Service Providers and airlines.

Throughout his career, Chris has held a number of senior roles whilst based in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and currently holds the position of Head of Accounts and Partnerships for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. He is responsible for NATS’ International business interests throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Benjamin Binet, Vice President and Managing Director Navigation and Surveillance, Thales

As the Vice President of Thales for Navigation & Surveillance, Mr Benjamin Binet leads a global business focused on helping civil aviation authorities, airports and military forces to navigate the skies, land safely and get the most accurate surveillance data.

Previously he was Vice President Strategy for the global Thales Airspace Mobility Solutions activity.

Benjamin has always been passionate about aviation and is a member of the CANSO Exec Committee as Associate Member representative.

He joined Thales in 2019 through the acquisition of Gemalto where he held various executive roles in the wireless and secure transactions businesses from 2003 to 2019 in Marketing, Sales, Product Management and General Management at HQ in France but also in Brazil and in South Africa. Benjamin holds a Master of Business Administration at ESCP-Europe Business School, Paris. Half French and half Belgian, he speaks 4 languages and has built strong multi-cultural skills through his time abroad and his trips.

Markus Klopf, Director Product Strategy and International Affairs, FREQUENTIS AG

Mr Markus Klopf is Director Product Strategy and International Affairs for the Air Traffic Management (ATM) Civil division at Frequentis and has over 20 years of global experience in the telecommunications and IT sector. He is involved in international organizations such as CANSO and ATCA and is co-founder of the ATCA Young Aviation Professionals (YAP). In CANSO he’s part of the SISC Steering Group and Chair of the Strategic Technology Working Group.

Markus has played a key role in growing the Frequentis portfolio in ATM, for example, he championed the creation of Frequentis’ drone strategy, worked on the transition from research to products for SWIM as well as growing the remote digital tower business. His credo is that he wants to make the world a better place, which is why he’s been very active in pushing green ATM solutions for many years. Prior to Frequentis, Markus held various commercial and technical positions at the Swedish telecoms company Ericsson. He has an engineering degree and earned his Master’s degree in Marketing and Sales at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, Austria. He is a passionate runner, cyclist, tennis player and certified chair umpire and referee.

Enrique Castillo, Business Development Director Air Traffic Management, INDRA

Mr Enrique Castillo is a recognized professional in the air traffic management sector with more than 30 years’ experience in the industry.

As the Global BD & Sales Director for Air Traffic Management at Indra, Enrique oversees the strategic direction and execution of business development and sales activities for the ATM & CNS business at Indra, conformed by several specialized companies and units in different countries and regions.

With a deep technical knowledge of air traffic systems, Enrique is an active participant in international forums and working groups, with a special interest in the achievement of regional harmonization of ATM systems.

Peter Cabooter, Vice President Customer Affairs, Aireon LLC

Mr Peter Cabooter is Aireon’s Vice President of Customer Affairs, leading Aireon’s Sales, Marketing, Products and Strategy Division to serve Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) and Aireon’s commercial data customers.

Cabooter joins Aireon with an extensive background of over 20 years in managing and directing sales within the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, with a strong knowledge-base and awareness of key issues that affect the aviation industry globally.

Before joining Aireon, Cabooter was the Vice President of Customer Affairs for NavBlue (formerly Airbus ProSky), where he managed the customer affairs teams in Toulouse, Dubai and Beijing. Cabooter previously served as NavBlue’s Regional Director of Customer Affairs, where he managed portfolios towards civil aviation authorities, airports and airlines with a supporting role to the customer affairs team for Air Traffic Management related matters.

Prior to his roles at NavBlue, Cabooter was the Sales Director for Barco Orthogon, which is now a part of Harris.

Kimiaki Sugitani, Project Manager of Aerospace Solutions Department, NEC Corporation

Mr Kimiaki Sugitani, Project Manager of Aerospace Solutions Department, NEC.

His career at NEC started in 2005 since when he has been heavily involved in ATC control system production.

His current role sees him project managing the system production of Trajectorised Oceanic ATC.

Mr Sugitani is also deeply knowledgeable about SWIM, and FF-ICE.

Zhang Yang, Senior Engineer, State Key Laboratory of Air Traffic Management System, Technical Expert, Nanjing LES Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Mr Zhang Yang, Technical Expert from State Key Laboratory of Air Traffic Management System, China, and Nanjing LES Information Technology Co., Ltd.. He is engaged in research and application of new ATM technologies, the related fields include Trajectory Based Operation, FF-ICE based trajectory information sharing and management, ATC automation system architecture and functions.

Tim Arel, COO, FAA ATO

As Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organisation, Mr Arel is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient and secure air traffic services for approximately 50,000 aircraft operating every day over nearly 30 million square miles across the National Airspace System NAS. Mr Arel will moderate our The Asia Pacific ATM White Paper from the Policy and Operational Perspective discussion.

Miao Xuan, Deputy Director General, Air Traffic Management Bureau, CAAC (ATMB)

Mr Miao Xuan currently serves as the Deputy Director General of ATMB CAAC, he oversees safety management, operations, international affairs, finance and strategic development. 

Starting from being an ATCO of the North China Regional ATMB, Mr. Xuan’s experience notably includes serving as Director of ATC Division of ATMB,  as well as Director of Airspace Management Centre of ATMB. In August 2021, he was appointed as the Deputy Director General.

Mr. Miao graduated from Civil Aviation University of China in 1990 with an undergraduate degree in ATM, and earned joint Master ’s degrees in Safety Management  from Civil Aviation University of China and Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile of France.

Mohd Fitri Bin Ishak, Director Air Navigation Services Technical, CAA Malaysia

Mr Bin Ishak currently holds the position of Deputy Director of the CNS/ATM Unit and Acting Director of the Air Navigation Technical Safety Division at CAAM. He began his career as an Air Traffic Controller in 2008 and held an active Area Surveillance Control rating, before progressing to the role of CNS Desk Officer at headquarters in 2012. In 2020, he was promoted to Head of the Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) unit before transitioning to the ASBU unit in 2022, focusing on modernising Malaysia’s aviation infrastructure and capabilities to align with international standards and best practices.

Captain Manuel Antonio Tamayo, Director General, CAA Philippines

Captain Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo has been serving as the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) since November 2022. Prior to his current position, he was appointed as the Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) from May 2017 – December 2020. Before joining CAAP, Captain Tamayo already had extensive experience in the aviation industry, he spent most of his career with Philippine Airlines (PAL), for 28 years, starting as a Commercial Pilot to retiring as the Vice President (VP) for Flight Operations Department/Director of Operations.

Takayuki Harada, Director, Air Traffic International Affairs Office, Japan Air Navigation Service (JANS)

Mr Takayuki Harada began his work experience as an Air Traffic Controller of Tokyo Area Control Center, then moved to position in system specialist for ATC systems. In 2005, He was a member of initial staff that successfully established new ATM Center in Japan. That opportunity marked the turning point in his career from the tactical job of air traffic controller to the strategic one.

He had used his knowledge of both operational side and system side to develop of new ATM system and ATM procedures at HQ of JANS. He contributed to the study of advanced ATM operations in Japan and to the implementation of his works into a feasible computerized system. During almost of his career, Takayuki endeavored to bridge ATM Operation and System Development. He had also served as a member of ICAO’s ATM Requirement & Performance Panel and an editorial member of ICAO Doc9971 (Manual on Collaborative. Air Traffic Flow Management).

In recent years, he has worked as a director of air traffic controller at Tokyo (Haneda) international Airport and a director of Fukuoka ATM Center, primarily responsible for managing human resources in addition to his ATM operational leadership. Since April 2022, he started work as a Director of Air Traffic International Affairs Office at JANS.

Victor Liu, Director-General of Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Department (CAD Hong Kong)

Mr Victor Liu has over 30 years of aviation experiences.  Before taking up the DGCA position, he has held different senior management positions in various technical divisions of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department.  Victor was previously the Chairman of the ICAO Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Group, and the Vice President – Asia of International Federation of Airworthiness.

Victor graduated from the University of Hong Kong.  He also holds a Specialized Master Degree in Aviation Safety (Aircraft Airworthiness) from Ecole Nationale de l’ Aviation Civile, France.

He is a professional pilot with experiences in scheduled airlines, business charter as well as search and rescue operations.  He is also a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers.

Patrick Ky, CEO, International Centre for Aviation Innovation 

Mr Patrick Ky was formerly Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Prior to leading EASA, he was in charge of the SESAR programme – Europe’s ATM modernisation programme.

Mr Ky is the recipient of The Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award of the Air Traffic Controllers Association as a recognition of his achievements in the field of aviation and for being an advocate of innovation and change in air traffic control. In 2015, he was designated “Industry Leader of the Year” by the German publication Fliegermagazin.

Mr Ky is a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and the Civil Aviation Engineering School in France. He holds degrees in economics from the University of Toulouse and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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