Saadia Zahidi will become the next director general of IATA.
Starting in November 2026, Zahidi will be the ninth director general of the International Air Transport Association and the first woman appointed to the position. She joins IATA from the World Economic Forum (WEF), where she is Director General and member of the Board of Directors.
Willie Walsh, current IATA Director General, will conclude his duties on 31 July 2026. The IATA Board of Directors has appointed Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Services, as Acting Director General during the interim period.
Zahidi spent more than two decades at the WEF, where he founded and currently directs its Center for the New Economy and Society. Previously, he led the WEF’s Global Communications Group, Global Programming Group and WEF’s engagement with academics, civil society and international organisations. Zahidi founded and co-authored the Future of Jobs Reports, Future of Growth Reports, Global Gender Gap Reports and WEF Chief Economist Outlook. She has served on the United Nations Secretary-General’s panel for the Economic Empowerment of Women and the High-Level Advisory Group of the European Space Agency. She is also the author of Fifty Million Rising, which tracks the rise of working women in the Muslim world.
Zahidi has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Smith College, a master’s degree in International Economics from The Graduate Institute, and an MBA from Harvard University.
