Claudia Galea named Global Sustainability Director at US-headquartered consulting firm

Claudia Galea has been appointed Global Sustainability Director for Aerospace and Defence at US-headquartered Kearney, the company announced on Tuesday.

Kearney is a global management consulting firm that has offices in more than 40 countries, with over 5,300 employees. Since its establishment in 1926, it has served as a trusted advisor to some of the world’s “foremost organisations”.

Her appointment forms part of a series of hires for the firm, with it seeking to enhance its service capability for aviation sector clients in the Americas. Apart from Ms Galea, the company also appointed Scott Davidson, Umang Gupta and Chandresh Malkani as Partners.

The quartet join the firm’s transportation practice, which focuses on advisory offerings in supply chain, sustainability, maintenance, and operations management. In recent years, Kearney has advised a number of airlines operating in the European market.

Commenting on the aviation sector’s sustainability implications, Ms Galea observed: “Customers, regulators, shareholders, manufacturers and airlines all agree that as the aviation sector continues to evolve, sustainability and responses to climate change must be front and centre.”

“The sector’s stakeholders are giving major considerations to operational, logistical, technical, engineering, capital expenditures, research and development, and management decisions. Kearney’s global commitment to sustainability reflects how it can assist all aviation businesses in meeting those demands, and I’m excited to contribute to those efforts,” she added.

Phillip Bensel, Partner and Global Lead at Kearney’s aviation team, said that the aviation sector “is in need of a transformation”.

“The sector is experiencing strong tailwinds bus is facing even stronger headwinds. We are supporting our clients to help tackle these challenges by improving the customer experience, developing green products, optimising network and operations, managing supply chain risk, and reducing cost,” he continued.

Ms Galea brings more than 20 years of experience in aviation, aerospace and industrials to the company, with a particular experience across sustainability, aftermarket and procurement, flight operations and optimisation, as well as manufacturing process improvement.

She joins after three years at global professional services company Accenture, where she served as Global Sustainability Lead for Aerospace, Defence, and Industrials. Prior to that, Ms Galea spent eight years at Boeing, where she was Senior Manager in its business consulting unit. Aside from a number of other experiences at various US-headquartered consulting firms, she was also Airline Pilot and Senior First Officer at Air Malta for six years, during which time she also served on the training team designing curriculum for new hires and recurring courses to the flight crew.

Ms Galea holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Warwick and Duke University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from University of Malta. She is currently reading for a Doctor of Business Administration in Global Sustainability from University of Warwick, focusing on aerospace supply chain innovation.

Social image: Kearney's offices