Voting goes live for WTCE’s Onboard Icons competition

World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) has opened its Onboard Icons competition to the public vote, which will see 10 people in the industry crowned the most influential, as voted for by their peers.

Over the last two months, those in the industry have been nominating friends and colleagues who deserve to be recognised for their hard work and incredible contributions to the sector over the past decade. With over 30 nominations made, voting is now live on the WTCE website and closes on 8th June.

Among the nominations are Matt Crane, who is Group Head of SATS Global Innovation Centre UK and Singapore, Director at Monty’s Bakehouse and a Founding Member of the Aviation Sustainability Forum, Anne de Hauw of IN Air Travel Experience, which was founded in 2018 to help airlines transform into customer-centric and sustainable travel experience providers, Simon Ward, CEO and Founder of TravelPlus and Melissa Raudebaugh, who is responsible for Inflight Service, Fleet & Galley Planning at leading US carrier Delta Airlines .

Other names to make the list of nominations include Wilbert de Louw, CEO of Foodcase International, Martin Buchholtz, Head of Global Product and Service Innovation and Research at LSG Group, Federico Heitz, CEO at Kaelis World, Ariane Van Mancius, Founder at Now New Next, Robin Padgett, Divisional Senior Vice President at Dnata Catering & Retail and Marc Warde, founder of Niche Free from Kitchen.

In the lead up to the exhibition, which is taking place at the Hamburg Messe from 14-16 June 2022, those in the industry are being encouraged to vote for an individual on the list who they believe is one of the sector’s most influential people. The finalists will be revealed at a live awards ceremony in the Taste of Travel theatre at WTCE on Tuesday 14th June in celebration of the exhibition’s 10-year anniversary.

WTCE Event Director Polly Magraw commented: “Over the last decade, the industry has seen an outstanding level of innovation and our Onboard Icons initiative aims to bring businesses together to celebrate their ideas, products and solutions that have impacted the sector so positively. All the nominees have undoubtedly been influential in the success of our industry and I’m looking forward to congratulating the 10 winners in person at the show this June.”

The full list of nominees is below. To vote for your favourite, visit: https://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com/en-gb/lp/onboard-icons.html

• Natalia Pashkova – Director of Development, Angel Sky
• Simon Ward – CEO & Founder, TravelPlus
• Federico Heitz – CEO, Kaelis World
• Matt Crane – Group Head, SATS Innovation Centre & Director, Monty’s Bakehouse
• Valentina Dalle Mule – Export Manager Airlines, Bottega SpA
• Eugenio Gaudio – CEO & Founder, Dufre Italia
• Ariane Van Mancius – Founder, Now New Next
• Melissa Raudebaugh – Fleet & Galley Planning, Delta Airlines
• Anne de Hauw – Founder, Air Travel Experience
• Marc Warde – Founder, Niche Free From Kitchen
• Lance Hayward – Founder, The Hayward Partnership
• Robin Padgett – Senior Vice President Catering, Dnata
• Dr Stathis Kefallonitis – Aviation Brand Strategist
• Jenny Greenhalgh – Executive Chef, Rail Gourmet
• Raymond Kollau – Founder, Airline Trends
• Alan Hayes – Sales & Managed Services Director, Dnata
• Martin Buchholtz – Head of Global Product and Service Innovation and Research, LSG
• David Loft – Chief Operating Officer, International Catering, Dnata
• Leonard Hamersfeld – Founder, Buzz
• Erdmann Rauer – CEO, LSG Group
• Rüdiger & Helga Friedrichs – Managing Director, Frankenberg
• Wilbert de Louw – CEO, Foodcase International
• Herwig Mariën – Managing Director, Wet-Nap Europe BV
• Joshua van den Hurk – Founder, The Bamboovement
• Michael Raasch – CEO, Omnevo
• Genevieve Rosario – Head of Product Development & Service Design, Qatar Airways
• Joe Harvey – Business Development, Omnevo
• Kian Gould – Owner & Founder Omnevo / AOE
• Peter Coelho – COO, Omnevo
• Sam Sibble – Director of Supply Chain, Delta Air Lines