Ram C. Menen
TIACA Chairman
1995-1996
He began his career in aviation in 1976 at Kuwait Airways. He later moved to British Airways to head its cargo operations in Kuwait. In 1984, he joined the Kuwaiti aviation group Alghanim Al Qutub Shipping Agencies, to set up and manage its airfreight-forwarding unit in Dubai. Mr. Menen is one of the original founding team of Emirates Airline and headed its cargo division since its inception in October 1985 and having led the airline to become the largest international cargo airline in the world in 2012. He retired from Emirates in June 2013 as the Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo.
Trained as an engineer, he spearheaded the conceptualisation and development of the LD-36 (AMF) type of ULD (Unit Load Device) which increased usable space on each lower deck pallet base by 33 per cent. He also helped develop the cool dollies, which are extensively used at some airports to maintain the integrity of the cool chain on the ramp in hot climate. He is a FCILT (Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transportation), as well as FRAeS (Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society).
He is one of the founder members of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), the premier organisation for the entire air logistics business, serving as Vice President in 1993 and 1994, and as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1995 and 1996. He continues to be involved with TIACA as a member of the Chairman’s Council. He was also very active in IATA and chaired the IATA Cargo Committee between 2008-12. He also served as Vice President of CILT/UAE Chapter between 2008-13.
He has been a resolute champion of air logistics industry and was actively involved in the development of various IT initiatives to address the needs of the industry. He has helped focus attention on cargo as an integral part of the world trade process and has had several industry recognitions during the course of his career. He currently serves in a few advisory role with a few companies/organizations
Industry recognitions:
- Special Achievement Award by International Freighting Weekly (IFW), UK in 2000.
- International Air Cargo Achievement Award for “excellence in Promoting East-West Trade” from World Trade Centre, Miami, USA in 2003
- Hall of Fame, TIACA (The International Air Cargo Association) in 2005
- Hall of Fame, Lloyd’s FTB Asia at Asian Logistics Awards in 2006.
- Personality of the Year (Air Cargo Industry) Middle East Logistics Awards (MELA 2007), Dubai 2007:
- Hall of Fame, MELA (Middle East Logistics Awards), Dubai, UAE in 2009:
- Innovator of the Year, LOG Middle East Magazine in 2010.
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Air Cargo News, UK in 2011
- Hall of Fame, SCATA, ITP, Dubai in 2012
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Payload Asia, 2013
- Lifetime Achievement Award by STAT Times, 2014