Paul Griffiths (CEO)
| Paul Griffiths | |
|---|---|
| Born |
16 October 1957 London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Airports Company |
| Spouse(s) | Joanna Griffiths |
| Children | 3 |
Paul Griffiths CMG (born 16 October 1957) is a British businessman, CEO of Dubai Airports, a company based in the United Arab Emirates and wholly owned by the Dubai government.[1][2] He is also a Vice President and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal College of Organists.[3]
Early life
He was born in London and educated at Parkside Preparatory School. After a brief period at The Latymer School, he moved with his family to Hertfordshire where he attended Richard Hale School in Hertford. At the age of ten, he started to study church music and became an organist, winning many prizes in local competitions. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Organists in 1984.
Career
Following the advice of his father, he decided against a full-time career in music and entered the travel industry in 1977 as a Contracts Executive with the OSL/Wings travel group, which was owned by the Rank Organisation. He later joined Reed International as Marketing and Research Manager in 1983. In 1986, he moved to Hong Kong and became Marketing Manager of the then start-up airline Dragonair.
In 1989, he returned to the UK and established a software company which developed proprietary information management systems for the airline industry. One of his contracts was for Virgin Atlantic Airways. Upon seeing the capability of the systems he had developed, he was asked by Richard Branson to join Virgin Atlantic as its commercial executive director in 1991. In 1994, he joined the main board of the Virgin Travel Group. During his ten years with Virgin, he was responsible for the strategic growth of the airline and many of its notable commercial successes, including the sale of 49% of Virgin Atlantic to Singapore Airlines in 2000. In 2001, he became a board director of the Virgin Rail Group and oversaw the public launch of the Virgin Trains fleet with the introduction of the Class 390 "Pendolino" on the West Coast Main Line franchise and the Class 220/221 "Voyager" on the Virgin CrossCountry franchise.
In 2004, he joined BAA and in 2005 became Chairman and Managing Director of Gatwick Airport Limited.[4] In 2007 he was appointed by Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum as the first Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Dubai Airports Corporation.[5] Dubai Airports owns and operates Dubai International Airport (DXB), currently ranked first in the world for passenger traffic and sixth in cargo traffic. Dubai Airports is also developing Dubai World Central (DWC), 35 km south of central Dubai, as part of a 148 sq km "Aerotropolis". Construction was completed in June 2010 with 17 cargo operators. It eventually plans on becoming the world's largest airport with five runways, capable of handling 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of freight per annum.
Music
Education and associations
Griffiths was a student of Malcolm Hicks and Stephen Farr. He is a licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, an associate of the Royal College of Music. He also became an associate of the Royal College of Organists in 1982 and a fellow two years later. In 2000 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Royal College of Organists and became Chairman of the Executive Committee in 2002. In 2007 he became a Vice President of the college.
He is a member of the Dubai Chamber Choir at Christ Church in Jebel Ali.[6]
Performances
Griffiths has combined a business career with active participation in music and has appeared in solo recitals and orchestral performances throughout the world. Griffiths was organ and harpsichord accompanist for the Surrey-based Waverley Singers and Organist to the Cathedral Singers at Guildford Cathedral. He has expressed interest in playing the harpsichord again but says it is unlikely to happen in Dubai, as harpsichords are extremely sensitive to heat and humidity.[6] He has given organ recitals at St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St John's, Smith Square in London as well at the English Cathedrals of Ely, Wells, Bristol & Peterborough. Griffiths was featured as a soloist in the St Albans International Organ Festival and has appeared at Birmingham Symphony hall as soloist in Poulenc's Organ Concerto.
Personal life
Griffiths has three children and lives in Dubai, London, and Sussex. His wife, Joanna, was Organ Scholar at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and is a composer of choral and orchestral works. They have commissioned a 3-manual, 30-stop pipe organ from the French organ builder Bernard Aubertin which will be installed at their home in East Sussex.[2] This will be the largest classical pipe organ installation in a private home in the UK for more than 70 years, the last having been the 1936 Willis in Tatton Hall, Cheshire.
Other hobbies
Griffiths takes an active interest in collecting and restoring motorcycles and cars and is a regular participant in motorsport events in the UAE and overseas. He says that he has "a passion for anything that moves" and a love of "fast cars". He has driven around the Hungary circuit in an F1 and plans to try the Paul Ricard circuit in France next.[6]
External links
References
- ↑ "Executive Biographies". Dubai International Airports. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- 1 2 Negroni, Christine (28 September 2011). "The Musician Behind Dubai Airports". New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ↑ "RCO: About Us: Patrons and officers | Royal College of Organists". Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ↑ "The Economist". The Dubai airshow: Just keep building | The Economist. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ↑ "Aviation in the Gulf: Rulers of the new silk road | The Economist". The Economist. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- 1 2 3 Sengupta, Chiranjib (30 June 2012). "I have done planes, trains and airports". Gulf News. Retrieved 2 July 2012.