Tim Clark (airline executive)


Sir Timothy Charles Clark is the current President of Emirates since January 2003. He was also the Managing Director of SriLankan Airlines until 2008. Clark is an economics graduate from the University of London. He attended Kent College Canterbury and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Background

Clark has been in the civil aviation business since 1972 when he joined British Caledonian. In 1975, he moved to Gulf Air in Bahrain and subsequently to Dubai in 1985 where he became a member of the founding team of Emirates as Head of Airline Planning. He is currently the President of Emirates. He was also Managing Director of Sri Lankan Airlines until 2008. The latter post resulted from the acquisition of a 40% stake in SriLankan Airlines by Emirates in April 1998. However, that post was lost when the Sri Lankan government took control of the airline and Emirates never renewed their contract for management of the airline.
Clark became President of Emirates in 2003 after spending 18 years helping build an aviation empire, which owes much of its success to the route network he established after joining as Head of Airline Planning.
In addition, Clark is the Chairman of the Emirates Airline Foundation, a non-profit charity that he helped found which provides humanitarian philanthropic aid and services for children in need around the world.
Clark was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to British prosperity and to the aviation industry.
Clark announced in December 2019 that he'd be stepping aside from his position at Emirates in June 2020 and would assume an advisory position within the airline.
Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine named Clark its 2013 Person of the Year.