Malaysia Airlines bolsters UK and Europe marketing team with new hire

Malaysia Airlines has appointed Richard De Villa as its new marketing manager for the UK and Europe market. Prior to the appointment, De Villa was doing travel trade and market development at the Philippines Embassy - Department of Tourism.He was with the embassy for 11 years, holding a range of positions which include travel trade, market development, sales and promotions and information technology.Most recently, he was based in London, where he was responsible for heading the travel trade promotions for the Philippines with the UK travel industry. He was also tasked with developing new partners for the Philippines and maintaining existing relationships.According to his LinkedIn, he developed, negotiate and implement joint marketing activities with the travel trade to increase sales conversion and build new business. This includes large-scale partnerships at major outdoor and online campaignsHis appointment follows a slew of people movements in Malaysia Airlines. Last year, it hired Schrene Goh as head of marketing. Prior to the appointment, Goh was head of marketing, communications, brand and digital for U Mobile.It also appointed Arved von zur Muehlen as chief commercial officer, who took over from Paul Simmons. Previously, he was senior vice president of commercial network operations for Qatar Airways.Peter Bellew was also appointed as group managing director and chief executive officer of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), taking over the reign from Christoph Mueller. Prior to the appointment, he was chief operating officer. Meanwhile, it named Captain Izham Ismail as the new chief operations officer.