Name: Antonoaldo Neves
Designation: Group Chief Executive Officer
Company: Etihad Aviation Group
Antonoaldo Neves was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group in October 2022 and has since set a clear strategic agenda to restore growth, profitability and global relevance to Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier. A civil engineer by training with an MBA from the Darden School of Business and a master’s in corporate finance from PUC-Rio, Neves combines technical rigor with commercial strategy and consulting experience from McKinsey. He previously led Azul in Brazil and later served as CEO of TAP Air Portugal, where he guided complex turnarounds and network expansion.
Under his leadership, Etihad has returned to profitability, tightened governance, and launched the Journey 2030 plan that targets significant fleet and network growth while embedding sustainability across operations and stronger strategic partnerships across global markets. Neves has outlined ambitions to grow passenger numbers toward the mid-tens of millions by 2030, add more than twenty new aircraft in coming years, and expand Etihad’s reach to over 125 destinations with optimized point-to-point services. His focus balances disciplined cost management, careful capacity deployment and investments in customer experience and cabin harmonisation.
Neves advocates pragmatic growth rather than hub-building at all costs, prioritising routes that deliver economic value for Abu Dhabi. He has also signalled readiness for a future public listing contingent on continued performance improvements. With a data-driven approach and pragmatic leadership, Neves is positioning Etihad to be a financially robust, customer-led and sustainability-focused global airline that reflects Abu Dhabi’s ambitions. His emphasis on operational discipline, network optimisation and sustainable aviation fuels underlines a long-term commitment to resilient growth globally.
