Effective 01SEP, Dirk Janzen will assume the role of Vice President Sales, The Americas, Lufthansa Group Airlines, responsible for Global Market Strategy, Joint Ventures, as well as Passenger Sales across North and South America.
He succeeds Frank Naeve, who was in charge of The Americas region for the last three years until his recent appointment as Senior Vice President Global Markets & Stations for the Lufthansa Group.
Janzen will be based at the Lufthansa Group’s passenger airlines headquarters on Long Island, New York, and will report to Naeve. Lufthansa Group includes passenger carriers Lufthansa, SWISS air, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and other entities.
Janzen brings to his new position a wealth of aviation and international business experience, with 22 years working across sales, revenue management, distribution and ancillary/retail. Janzen began his career with the Lufthansa Group in 2000, first as a member of the company’s general management graduate program, followed by eight years in the U.S., where he eventually became Director, Leisure & Online Sales, North America.
Prior to assuming this role, he served as Vice President, Ancillary and Retail Management, leading a team of over one-hundred employees throughout Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels where he managed ancillary revenue, non-air partnerships and retail business for the Lufthansa Group airlines and Miles & More.
From 2010 to 2017, he moved to Germany to assume various sales roles in Lufthansa’s headquarters, amongst others as Senior Director, Sales, Germany, leading the sales team in Lufthansa’s home market. In 2017, Janzen stepped into the role of Vice President Pricing, Revenue Management & Distribution for one of Lufthansa’s subsidiaries, Brussels Airlines, based in Brussels. In January 2020, Janzen was named Vice President Revenue Management, Commercial Steering & Embedding for Brussels Airlines, and became a member of the extended management board. In this capacity, he was also responsible for the airline’s commercial restart following the COVID-19 European flight suspensions.
Janzen received his Master’s degree (Diplom-Kaufmann) in Business from the University of Regensburg in Germany and holds an MBA from Murray State University in Kentucky. In 2017 he completed the London Business School’s Advanced Development Program (ADP).
“The Americas is the Lufthansa Group airline’s most important sales region outside of the home markets, and with his business acumen and years of commitment to bolstering sales throughout his Lufthansa Group career, Dirk Janzen is the perfect leader to continue, as well as surpass, our strong momentum,” said Frank Naeve, Senior Vice President of Global Markets & Stations, Lufthansa Group.
More information about Lufthansa Group is available on its web site.
