Air New Zealand has appointed Kathryn O’Brien as its new general manager for Australia.
Stepping into the role on 13 February 2023, O’Brien will take the reins from Michael Zorbas (Zorby), who has been acting general manager for the region.
She brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within the tourism and hospitality industry to the role, predominantly within the hotel sector and most recently with activities and experiences.
Most recently, O’Brien worked for adventure tourism company Experience Co, where she was initially employed as chief revenue officer in 2019, and most recently served as chief commercial officer.
Australia is an incredibly important market to the airline and continues to be a high-performing region in its global network, according to Jeremy O’Brien, Air New Zealand’s general manager for short-haul.
“This is a pivotal leadership appointment and I’m excited by the skills that Kathryn will add to our already strong Australia leadership group across commercial, customer and airports,” he said.
“The fact the region has continued to be a standout performer as part of the international restart is in no small part due to the experienced leadership Zorby has provided alongside our strong in-market leadership group.
“I look forward to joining [Kathryn] and the team in the New Year to connect across the Australian market and build on our strong partnerships across supplier, airports, and our trade & tourism industry partnerships.”
