Rafael Alonso was appointed President of Airbus Latin America and Caribbean Region, a newly-created position within Airbus, in February 2014. With more than three decades in the aviation industry, Mr. Alonso is responsible for all Airbus’ commercial activities and customer relations in over 40 countries and has been directly involved in more than 1,000 aircraft sales. Mr. Alonso has spent most of his career enhancing Airbus’ presence, evolution and influence throughout Latin America and the Caribbean since the late 1980s. His career with Airbus began in 1984 when he was seconded to Airbus’ Toulouse headquarters as Regional Manager of Sales for the Latin America group. Four years later he became Vice President Sales for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2007, Airbus established its Latin America and Caribbean offices in Miami – with Mr. Alonso leading the effort to remain connected to customers. Throughout his tenure with Airbus, Mr. Alonso has held various positions of leadership within Airbus, initially in the capacity of Senior Vice President of Latin America and the Caribbean for Customer Affairs, and then as Executive Vice President of Latin America and Caribbean Region, a position he held from 2011 until his appointment as President. Mr. Alonso began his professional career in 1981 as a design engineer in The Boeing Company in Seattle. He then joined the Product Support Division of Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. in Madrid, Spain in 1983. Mr. Alonso is fluent in Spanish, English and French, and proficient in Portuguese. Rafael Alonso was born in 1952 in Madrid, Spain. He holds a Master’s Degree from the Polytechnic University of Aeronautical Engineers in Madrid and has completed various courses in Business and Finance, mainly at the European Management Centre in Brussels, Belgium, and at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.