A Conversation with Joanna Ioannou, Chief People Officer Continental Europe, Middle East, Africa & India at Swissport
Swissport operates in one of the most demanding environments imaginable. Aviation never stops. Aircraft keep arriving. Safety, quality and performance are non-negotiable: 24/7, 365 days a year. For Joanna Ioannou, Chief People Officer for Swissport’s Continental Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (CEMEAI) region, that reality is daily life. She has been with Swissport for fourteen years and has worked in HR for more than three decades. Today, she supports one of Swissport’s largest and most diverse regions, spanning 24 countries and more than 12,500 employees.
People make performance possible
“Swissport is fundamentally a people business. And that is exactly why leadership matters so much,” Joanna says. “Our company values – ‘Show we care, Win as a team, Do the right thing’ – aren’t just words on a wall. They are authentic principles that spread through every level of our organization. For Swissport, this became the foundation for sustainable performance. “High performance cannot be sustained in high-pressure environments without genuine care for the people delivering it,” she adds.
High performance cannot be sustained in high-pressure environments without genuine care for the people delivering it.
Leadership beyond the numbers
Joanna is clear about what distinguishes good leadership from merely hitting targets. In aviation, operational reality is relentless. Yet leadership cannot become purely transactional. “Authenticity is essential. Our people immediately recognize whether leaders genuinely live our values or simply talk about them,” Joanna explains. That is why transparency matters too: not just telling people what to do, but explaining why. “This builds ownership and commitment far beyond compliance.”
In a safety-critical environment, there is another dimension: people must feel empowered to speak up. “Trust and empathy are non-negotiable. But leaders must also empower people to challenge when something does not feel right.”
Why Swissport invested in leadership development
Swissport has always been operationally strong. Safety, quality and efficiency are deeply embedded in the company’s DNA. Yet as the organization grew in scale and complexity, Joanna and her colleagues saw a gap emerging. “Many leaders were managing today’s operations exceptionally well, but that is not sufficient if they are not equipped to lead the business of tomorrow.”
The challenge was not technical capability. It was mindset. “We needed leaders who could think end-to-end across the value chain, connect operational decisions to strategic and financial impact, anticipate change rather than only react, and lead with an enterprise perspective,” Joanna continues. Traditional training, she says, does not create that shift. “It reinforces execution. We needed something that reshaped how leaders think.”
We needed leaders who could think end-to-end across the value chain, connect operational decisions to strategic and financial impact, anticipate change rather than only react, and lead with an enterprise perspective
That strategic ambition was fully aligned at the top of the region. As CEMEAI Chief Executive Officer/Global Cargo Chair Dirk Goovaerts emphasizes, ultimate top performance depends on leadership teams who think beyond their day-to-day responsibilities and adopt a broader, enterprise-wide perspective.
For Dirk, the strength of the initiative lies not only in its ambition, but in how it was built. Reflecting on the partnership behind the program, he underlines its collaborative nature: “We have been able to create the program in collaboration with AMS, which is helping us to be relevant to what we want to achieve with our people.”
Ultimately, Dirk´s success measure is simple and future-focused: developing the next generation of leaders.
For Joanna, that alignment between HR and business leadership was critical to making the initiative meaningful and sustainable.
Credible. Industry-relevant. Co-created.
For Swissport, partnering with a management school was a clear choice to raise the bar and send a signal. “We wanted a program that would be seen and experienced as a serious investment,” Joanna explains, pointing to Antwerp Management School’s triple accreditation as a mark of credibility.
Besides credibility, Swissport also saw relevance as an important criterion. In the highly regulated and complex aviation sector, leadership development cannot be generic. “The faculty’s aviation experience created immediate credibility. Participants learned from experts who spoke their language, understood their environment, and challenged them with relevant, industry-specific insights from day one.”
Co-creation was equally important. From the start, AMS invested time and effort in understanding Swissport’s operating environment, leadership challenges and cultural context. The program was shaped through engagement with Swissport’s CEO, COO and regional leadership teams.
“The result was a modular, agile design that addressed core strategic and leadership themes while adapting to participants’ diverse backgrounds,” Joanna adds.
Participants learned from experts who spoke their language, understood their environment, and challenged them with relevant, industry-specific insights from day one
Swissport’s reality was embedded throughout: real business cases, real operational dilemmas and continuous adjustment. “Regular reflection with AMS ensured the content remained relevant as industry conditions changed, particularly during post-pandemic recovery and digital transformation,” she says.
Stepping out of the comfort zone
Like many organizations, Swissport had initial concerns. Time away from operations is always a sensitive issue. And there was the classic question: how could the program be practical and academic at the same time?
“We addressed this by co-creating a program built around real Swissport challenges, strong senior leadership sponsorship, and immediate application of learning in participants’ roles,” clarifies Joanna.
The impact quickly spoke for itself. “Participants were stretched: through exposure to unfamiliar strategic and financial concepts, through deep self-reflection, and through diverse peer groups that challenged assumptions. That discomfort is essential. Without it, leadership development does not happen.”
What participants took back to the business
The feedback from participants was remarkably positive. “They felt better equipped to delegate, develop their teams, and make more balanced decisions under pressure,” Joanna observes.
For Finance Director, Netherlands, Koen Hartsink, the program was indeed “a combination of business strategy and leadership skills.” But what stood out most to him was the diversity of perspectives in the room: “The multicultural element and meeting colleagues from different backgrounds and different functions is one of the greatest values.”
He also noticed a personal shift in his day-to-day leadership — moving from rolling up his sleeves and doing the work himself towards trusting his team and enabling them to deliver results.
Edwin Musungu, Head of Cargo, Kenya and Business Development Manager for East & Southern Africa, highlights another dimension that resonates with Joanna’s emphasis on mindset: self-reflection. “Looking at how you do things and how that affects your leadership was a key takeaway for me in this course. The most thought-provoking part was the focus on self-introspection. Developing yourself as a leader changes how you lead others.”
For Joanna, such reflections are powerful indicators that the program is achieving its deeper purpose. She also noticed something that HR leaders recognize as one of the strongest success signals: advocacy. “Participants didn’t just give positive feedback in formal evaluations. They went back to their teams and peers and spoke about the program with genuine enthusiasm. That enthusiasm created momentum and a strong word-of-mouth effect.”
The networks formed across borders and functions continue to strengthen collaboration across the region.
Visible results, measurable impact
The program journey is still ongoing, but Swissport is already seeing clear shifts in how leaders communicate, decide and collaborate. “Leaders are framing discussions more strategically, delegating more effectively, and developing their teams with greater intention,” Joanna emphasizes.
For Swissport, impact must be measurable. Joanna: “We combine qualitative and quantitative indicators: participant feedback, stakeholder observations, talent progression, and retention.”
There are also tangible career outcomes. “Several program alumni have progressed into Managing Director roles, demonstrating accelerated leadership readiness,” she adds. Retention improved as well, and ultimately, performance followed. “Since the program launched, the CEMEAI region has consistently exceeded its targets.”
Leadership footprint
When asked about leadership footprint, Joanna reflects: “It is what remains when you are not in the room; the behaviors, decisions, and culture that continue long after you have moved on.”
A leadership footprint is what remains when you are not in the room; the behaviors, decisions, and culture that continue long after you have moved on
From this perspective, the Swissport program at AMS is not about individual achievements. It is about what leaders enable. The goal is clear: leaving a footprint that is strategic, human and responsible, at a personal, organizational and societal level. “When leaders develop their teams in this way, leadership becomes self-reinforcing, with each generation creating the next,” Joanna explains. And that is how organizations build sustainable, future-ready leadership.
Opening minds
AMS’s positioning line, “Opening minds to impact the world,” resonates with Swissport’s leadership ambition. In Joanna’s words: “Traditional programs in operations, finance, or legal focus on known problems with known solutions. Our challenge was different.” Swissport needed leaders who could step out of silos and think differently.
Joanna has witnessed the shift first-hand. “I’ve seen participants move from purely operational thinking to confidently engaging in strategic discussions and tackling complex problems without a predefined playbook.” In a fast-changing aviation environment, that ability matters more than any single tool. “Tools can be taught, but teaching leaders how to think creates lasting impact, even for challenges we cannot yet predict.”
A message to other HR leaders
When asked what she would say to HR leaders considering leadership development through AMS, Joanna’s answer is direct: “Be clear about the transformation you want. If your challenge is moving leaders from operational excellence to strategic thinking, AMS is an excellent partner.” For Swissport, the impact has exceeded expectations, with stronger retention, accelerated progression, and a powerful signal that Swissport genuinely invests in its people.
