IATA Appoints Marie Owens Thomsen as Chief Economist

(16 Nov 2021)  IATA has appointed Marie Owens Thomsen as Chief Economist, effective 4 January 2022.

Marie will join IATA from Banque Lombard Odier where she served as Head of Global Trends and Sustainability since 2020.

Marie Owens Thomsen

Prior to that, Marie worked from 2011 to 2020 as Global Head of Investment Intelligence at Indosuez Wealth Management.

Marie has also spent time working as a Chief Economist, and in other similar roles, for Merrill Lynch, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and HSBC.

“I am joining IATA to contribute to the aviation sector which has been a formidable long-term driver of economic growth,” Marie said. “I’ll do this with a research approach that identifies causal factors for critical issues and their high-priority solutions. This is important as aviation begins the recovery from COVID19 and continues the journey to net zero emissions. I look forward to a future where aviation can flourish within a sustainable global economy.”

Marie has a PhD in International Economics from The Graduate Institute in Geneva and an MBA equivalent from the University of Gothenburg in International Economics and Business.

Holding US, UK and Swiss nationalities, Marie has worked in the UK, France and Switzerland and is fluent in Swedish, English and French.

Marie succeeds Brian Pearce who retired from IATA earlier this year after serving as Chief Economist since 2004.

“Marie’s work on macro-economic issues with a focus on sustainability will prepare her to address aviation’s top issues—namely recovery from COVID19 and sustainability,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “Coming from outside the aviation sector, she will bring valuable new insights and perspectives, and I am confident that she will carry on IATA’s reputation for objective reporting and analysis that is essential for explaining aviation’s contribution to the global economy and advocating for the polices airlines need to be successful.”