Leadership team

Shai Weiss is Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Atlantic and an Executive Director of the Virgin Atlantic board.

Shai joined Virgin Atlantic as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2014 from Virgin Management Ltd, where he had been an Investment Partner since 2012 and was a Founding Partner of Virgin Green Fund.  In January 2017 Shai assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer responsible for shaping the airline’s strategic position in the market, driving opportunities for new revenue, and leading the loyalty, alliances and marketing programs that distinguish the airline.  In January 2019, Shai took up the role of Chief Executive Officer. Following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, Shai led Virgin Atlantic through the crisis and delivered the privately funded, solvent recapitalisation of the airline and holiday business in September 2020. Through his role at Virgin Group Shai has been a member of the Virgin Atlantic board since summer 2012.

Shai has extensive financial and operational expertise. Prior to joining Virgin Group, he held several senior management positions at ntl:Telewest (now Virgin Media), the UK and Europe’s largest cable operator. Shai was part of the turn-around of ntl with roles including Managing Director of Consumer Products, Director of Operations, and Director of Financial Planning for the Consumer division. Shai was also behind the merger between Virgin Mobile UK and ntl:Telewest and the re-brand to Virgin Media.

Prior to ntl, Shai established the European office of early-stage technology venture fund JVP and was a senior associate with Morgan Stanley.

Shai also serves as a non-executive director of Checkpoint Software Technologies (NASDQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cyber security solutions to governments and corporate enterprises globally.

Shai holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BBA from City University of New York, Baruch College. He resides in London with his wife and two sons, attends Arsenal games whenever he can, reads The New Yorker magazine from cover to cover and attempts to play basketball.

Siobhan joined Virgin Atlantic in 2018 and was appointed Chief Experience Officer in 2023, having previously held the position of Chief Digital & Marketing Officer. In leading the Experience directorate, Siobhan is responsible for all the brilliantly different customer touchpoints that set Virgin Atlantic apart, both digital and physical. Siobhan leads the business areas that allow Virgin Atlantic to live up to its brand promise of delivering thoughtful, premium, personalised experiences throughout the end-to-end journey, while extending reach and relevance through digital transformation and data insights. Her remit spans Customer Journeys, Brand and Marketing, Loyalty, eCommerce, CRM and Digital Engineering.Siobhan has over 15 years' experience in the retail industry at brands including Argos and Homebase, gaining deep CX, branding and digital understanding.

Prior to working in transformational roles within retail, Siobhan spent 10 years working in media, digital and publishing.

Siobhan lives with her partner, one dog, four cats and two horses. When she’s not on the horse riding, she’s normally avidly reading or attempting some exercise.

Corneel Koster is Chief Customer & Operating Officer at Virgin Atlantic, responsible for the delivery and continuous improvement of the unique customer experience of Virgin Atlantic, as well as its safe and reliable global operations. Corneel leads all operational and customer facing teams, including Pilots, Operations Control, Engineers, Cabin Crew, Crew Logistics, Customer Centres, Airports, Clubhouses and Inflight Services. He is the Accountable Manager for safety and security for the airline. Corneel has over 25 years’ experience in aviation, including senior leadership roles with Virgin Atlantic partners.

Before he returned to Virgin Atlantic in 2019, he was Delta Air Lines’ Senior Vice President Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI), overseeing sales and partnerships in the EMEAI region. Before joining Delta, as Chief Operating Officer for Grupo Aeromexico Corneel was responsible for the operational excellence and service delivery of the national flag carrier of Mexico and its regional feeder airline, as well as the company’s cargo and ground-handling subsidiaries. Corneel has also held several commercial leadership roles in the passenger, ground handling and cargo businesses for KLM.

Corneel serves as a Board Member for Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited. Originating from the Netherlands, Corneel holds an MSc (drs.) in Business Administration from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Corneel and his family are settled in the UK, having been in England for 15 years over two separate stints. Besides the Netherlands and the UK, Corneel has lived in Malta, performed a leadership role in Africa, the Middle East and his family also joined him for leadership postings in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Mexico. Corneel, his wife and youngest son reside on the beautiful South Coast of the UK, while his other two sons are at University in the UK and studying and working in Japan.

Oli was appointed Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Financial Officer in September 2020. He is responsible for finance, fleet, legal, technology, data & AI and transformation. Oli is focused on returning Virgin Atlantic to sustainable profitability and achieving a healthy return on capital employed. Oli brings over 15 years of commercial aviation experience from both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Group.

Since joining Virgin Atlantic, Oli has held several leadership team roles including leading Revenue Management; Global Sales & Loyalty; Data & Customer Loyalty; and Chief of Staff. Oli currently serves as a Board member for Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Red, Virgin Group’s loyalty company.

Oli joined Virgin Atlantic in early 2013 from Virgin Group, where he held the role of Chief of Staff to the CEO. In this role, he supported the overall implementation and delivery of the Group’s strategic agenda and advised Virgin-branded businesses, including the successful growth then IPO of Virgin America, the formation of Virgin Atlantic’s industry-leading Joint Venture with Delta Air Lines and the strategic development of Virgin Galactic. Oli began his career as an investment banker at UBS, working in UK mergers and acquisitions and raising equity from capital markets.

Oli holds a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Durham University. He now lives in London having previously lived in San Francisco and Geneva. Outside of work, Oli spends his time running, cycling and ski touring.

Juha Järvinen is Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic with over 25 years’ aviation, travel and logistics industry experience. He leads the Commercial unit with responsibility for Passenger, Cargo, Holidays tour operator and Ancillary Revenues, Network planning, Joint Venture with Delta Air Lines and Air France KLM, SkyTeam Alliance and other airline partnerships, Global Corporate and Travel Trade Sales, Revenue Management and Distribution, and in its core to become the most loved travel company. Juha is the executive sponsor of the Pride colleague network, for the LGBTQ+ community, supporting a true sense of belonging at Virgin Atlantic.

Juha joined Virgin Atlantic as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2019 from Finnair Plc, where he had been Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Board Member since 2014 and Managing Director of Finnair Cargo from 2012 to 2016. Prior to Finnair, Juha held several senior commercial and operations positions at SAS Scandinavian Airlines during his 14 years at the airline.

Juha is non-exec board member at British American Business, the leading transatlantic trade organisation which is committed to strengthening the economic corridor between the UK and US, and at QOCO Systems, a Finnish tech start-up driving efficiency and analytics in the aerospace maintenance and engineering industry. Between 2016-2021, Juha acted as non-exec board member, Chairman and President Emeritus of the Airline Passenger Experience Association [APEX] Board, a US based non-profit association representing the global airline, technology and entertainment industry.

Juha holds an MBA from Danube University in Austria and a BA Honours from London Metropolitan University. He resides in London with his spouse. Juha loves exploring the world, gym training and completely switches off at hot yoga class and when running by the River Thames.

As Chief People Officer, Becky is responsible for ensuring that Virgin Atlantic’s people can thrive at work by creating inclusive experiences that energise teams, uphold colleague happiness, and drive performance, helping the airline to achieve its vision to be the most loved travel company and sustainably profitable. Becky brings over 25 years of experience to the role across a range of industries including Banking, FMCG, Retail and Hospitality. Prior to joining Virgin Atlantic Becky was People Director at Whitbread plc, where she was responsible for Whitbread’s UK hotel business Premier Inn and its UK Restaurant brands which in total is a business of 37,000 employees and £2.8bn revenue.

Becky holds a degree in Economics & Politics from Keele University, postgraduate studies in Psychology of Organisational Development and Change from Heriot-Watt University and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD. Becky lives with her husband Ollie and has twins who are studying Aeronautical Engineering and Fashion Marketing at University. In her spare time Becky loves to travel as well as spending time with friends and family.

Annabelle Cordelli is Senior Vice President Brand & Marketing at Virgin Atlantic, where she is responsible for customer insight, new brand propositions, brand strategy, creative, design, B2C and B2B marketing and effectiveness.

After joining Virgin Atlantic in January 2019, Annabelle led the global repositioning of Virgin Atlantic, including creation of the masterbrand strategy which led to the integration of Virgin Holidays marketing to create a centre of excellence.  As travel remerged from the pandemic, she spearheaded efforts to define and launch the global brand platform “See The World Differently,” which has been nominated for ‘Campaign of the Year’ by several prestigious awards, including The Marketing Society Awards, The British LGBT Awards and Burberry British Diversity Awards. The campaign was also crowned IPSOS Ad of the Year for Creative Excellence.

Prior to Virgin Atlantic, Annabelle spent over 20 years marketing global lifestyle, luxury and FMCG iconic brands including Dom Pérignon, Perrier-Jouët, Moët & Chandon, Jacobs Creek, Pepsi, Gatorade, 7up, J20, Britvic, Tango, Fisher-Price, Matchbox, Hot Wheels & Barbie. Annabelle has a BB & BA from University of Swinburne, Australia.  She lives in London with her husband and two boys.

Dave is Senior Vice President - Operations at Virgin Atlantic and was appointed to this role in September 2020. He is responsible for large parts of Virgin Atlantic’s operations, including flight operations, pilots, cabin crew, inflight services, crew logistics, property & facilities and business resilience. Dave is also the executive sponsor of Virgin Atlantic’s VALUED network (Virgin Atlantic Loves Unity & Ethnic Diversity).

Prior to his current role, Dave was SVP – Revenue Management & Distribution, with responsibility across pricing and revenue management, distribution strategy and digital transformation. Dave joined Virgin Atlantic from Virgin Holidays, where he was Interim Managing Director. Prior to his role as Managing Director, Dave was responsible for revenue management, product, corporate strategy and business development. Dave began his career as a management consultant at L.E.K., where he spent over six years advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and a variety of strategies across heavy industry, retail and financial services.

Dave lives in London with his wife and three children. He enjoys running, cycling, cricket and watching most sports. He is originally from Adelaide, Australia and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of New South Wales.

Dominic is responsible for Virgin Atlantic’s Revenue Management, Distribution and Holidays functions, leading and defining the long-term revenue growth vision and plan for the Airline and Holidays business. In his position, Dominic is central in leading key commercial projects, core to the airline’s joint venture leadership team and working collaboratively across directorates to prioritize, target and deliver Virgin Atlantic revenue growth, which exceeded £3bn in 2023.

Dominic joined Virgin Atlantic in March 2005 in Fleet and Network Planning, providing analysis to support future capacity and revenue planning. In 2008, he joined Cargo to create and manage its Price and Product team and, later, Revenue Management and Capacity Control. Following 3 years as Director, Commercial Planning, he became Managing Director in August 2017, responsible for all aspects of Virgin Atlantic’s Cargo activities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the division was uniquely positioned to capitalise on cargo demand, successfully deploying passenger-freighters and sustaining cargo-only flying for the first time in the airline’s history, generating vital revenues that supported the survival of Virgin Atlantic.

Dominic lives in London with his wife and twin daughters. He enjoys running, cycling and following the ups and downs of Burnley FC.