Julie Southern has been appointed chief commercial officer of Virgin Atlantic. She will take responsibility of network expansion, trade alliances and driving global revenues through pricing, sales and marketing.
Southern’s career has spanned 10 years with the airline and most recently as chief financial officer she was instrumental in reshaping the business and reducing costs during the economic downturn.
Before joining Virgin Atlantic Southern worked at Group Finance Director at Porsche Cars, Great Britain. Prior to this she held a number of Finance leadership roles at WH Smith.
"This promotion and change of emphasis for Julie will enable Virgin Atlantic to change gear in its recovery from recession," says Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic. "Julie's expertise has enabled the business to steer a course through some very difficult times but now we can utilize her strengths at the front end of the business, driving new relationships, revenues and ultimately our growth strategy."
Tim Livett, the current finance director, will replace Southern as CFO.