Several months ago, Enrique Beltranena, founder and CEO of Mexico’s ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris, graciously agreed to be the guest speaker at the Foundation’s 6th annual Networking Dinner and Silent Auction, which was held July 26 at the National Press Club in Washington. To say that Beltranena delivered an engaging and powerful speech would be an understatement.
“Safety is the most important function of any member of the aviation community in the world,” he said. “For a CEO in this industry, there is nothing more important, … and we as CEOs must be fully involved in the detailed functions of aviation safety and developing a strong safety culture at our companies,” he said. “If you don’t do it, you are at risk of [finding yourself] in the worst nightmare of your life.”
Beltranena was speaking from experience. In August 1995, four months after taking over as Guatemalan carrier Aviateca’s CEO, he got a call from the carrier’s Operations Control Center. Contac…
