2019 Van Fleet Award Honorees
Van Fleet Awardee
The late Yang Ho Cho
Former Chairman and CEO
Hanjin Group
Yang Ho Cho was former chairman, CEO and major shareholder of the Hanjin Group, a global transportation conglomerate in the aviation, maritime and ground transportation industries. Companies in the Hanjin Group include Korean Air, Hanjin Transportation as well as educational institutions and non-profit foundations.
Mr. Cho was named chairman and CEO of Korean Air in 1999, having previously served as the company’s president and CEO. He began working for Korean Air as a manager in the Americas Regional Headquarters in 1974, and worked his way up the company’s administrative ranks.
In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Mr. Cho is vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries and co-chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council. He is also the co-chairman of the Korea-France High Level Businessmen’s Club and served as the co-president of l’Année France-Corée 2015-2016, aimed at celebrating 130 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and France. He serves on the Strategy Policy Committee and the Board of Governors at the International Air Transport Association.
Mr. Cho was the head of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee, which was successful in winning the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. He later served as the president and CEO of the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Inha University (Incheon, Korea), Mr. Cho received an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California (USC) and a doctorate from Inha University. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Florida) and the Ukraine National Aviation University. He is currently the Board of Trustees chair of the Inha-Jeongseok Foundation which includes Inha and Hankuk Aviation universities, and is also a Board of Trustee member at USC.
Mr. Cho’s leadership has been widely recognized over the years. He was awarded the title of `Grand Officier’ in France’s Légion d’Honneur, ‘Polaris’ in Mongolia and also the `Mugunghwa Medal’ in Korea – all of which are the highest order of civil merit awarded in these countries.
Van Fleet Award
Received by
Walter Cho
Chairman and CEO
Korean Air
Walter Cho, Chairman and CEO of Hanjin Group and Korean Air, is a leader in the global aviation industry.
Mr. Cho started his career at Hanjin Information Systems and Telecommunication, an IT affiliate of Hanjin Group in 2003.The following year, he joined Korean Air and gained experience in core business areas. Mr. Cho led the Passenger Business, Corporate Strategy and Planning, Cargo Business until 2017 when he was named President and COO of Korean Air.
He played a pivotal role in launching Korean Air’s trans-Pacific joint venture with Delta Air Lines in May 2018. It has strengthened Korean Air’s network competitiveness, which has resulted in attracting premium demand. It is considered the most comprehensive trans-Pacific joint venture. He also guided the introduction of the airline’s next-generation environmentally-friendly aircraft including B787-9s, B747-8is, B777-300ERs, A321neos, and A220-300s, solidifying a long-term foundation for growth.
Equally important is Mr. Cho’s successful implementation of IT initiatives, producing a committed digital flight plan for the airline. He made the pioneering decision to migrate Korean Air’s entire IT system to Amazon Web Services’ cloud, empowering the airline to quickly and flexibly respond to market changes and customers’ needs. Korean Air has transformed its internal system to Google’s G-Suite, a cloud-based software that promotes productivity and collaboration.
Mr. Cho also is passionate about industry projects and expanding Korean Air’s presence in the global aviation community. He is a member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors, the highest policy-making body of the airline industry association. Mr. Cho also is Chairman of the SkyTeam Alliance Board. In June 2019, he served as President of the 75th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul.
Mr. Cho has a management style built on the values of communication and kindness, and is committed to establishing an open, constructive corporate culture within the airline.
Van Fleet Award
Received by
Ihssane Mounir
Senior Vice President Commercial Sales & Marketing
The Boeing Company
Ihssane Mounir is senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company, the world’s largest aerospace company and the leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes and service provider of aftermarket support. Appointed to this position in 2016, Mounir is responsible for the sales and marketing of commercial airplanes and related services to airlines and leasing customers around the world.
Prior to his current role, Mounir held senior leadership positions in Boeing’s Commercial Sales & Marketing organization. For over five years, Mounir served as vice president of Sales for Northeast Asia, responsible for leading sales in the world’s largest and fastest growing market. Mounir and his team managed airline customer relationships and market development in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Previous to that, Mounir served as vice president of Marketing, Sales Strategy and Operations. Prior to that assignment, Mounir led commercial airplane sales efforts in many regions around the world, including serving as vice president of Sales for Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.
Mounir also served as business director and deputy vice president of Sales for Europe, Russia and Central Asia, a role he assumed after he served as sales director for East, West and North Africa. He also served as sales director for British Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, and other leading global carriers.
Mounir joined Boeing as a senior aerodynamics engineer in 1997. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in aerospace engineering from Wichita State University.
Throughout his career, Mounir has contributed to the aerospace community by authoring papers in the field of experimental and applied aerodynamics. His work and research have been honored with several awards by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Mounir serves on the National Advisory Board of Wichita State University, the Advisory Board of Wichita State’s School of Engineering, and is on the board of directors of FIRST Washington. He is married with four children.