Menzies Aviation, the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, has announced a series of high-level appointments to support the expansion of its commercial and operational footprint in Southern Europe.

READ: Menzies Aviation takes over ground handling services at Belgrade Airport

In Portugal, Rui Gomes has been appointed Vice President Portugal. He joins from Samsic Portugal, where he held the position of COO and oversaw a workforce of more than 9,000. Before joining Samsic, Rui was with ISS for 17 years, holding various roles, including Regional Finance Manager LATAM, CFO Chile, and Country Manager Portugal. Before this, he was the Audit Manager for KPMG Portugal.

As VP of Portugal, Rui will assume overall management responsibilities for operations in Portugal and the proposed recovery plan for Groundforce Portugal.

Michael Stratman has been appointed COO of Portugal to support Rui and Menzies’ Portuguese operations. Michael returns to Menzies having previously held positions including VP Italy, VP Operations South Africa & Namibia, and GM Operations Spain & France. Before his time with Menzies, Michael was the Operations Manager for EasyJet Handling in Spain.

Today’s announcement follows earlier structural changes, which saw Juanlo Vidal appointed Senior Vice President South Europe, assuming responsibilities for Portugal, Spain, France, Cyprus, and Italy. Kristian Muntaner has also been appointed Operations Director of South Europe, overseeing planning, GSE, risk, and environment.

Miguel Gomez Sjunnesson, Executive Vice President of Europe, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rui to the Menzies team and announce Michael’s return ahead of our expansion into the Portuguese market. I am confident that with Rui and Michael onboard, we have the right team to support and build our presence in Southern Europe. It is the next step towards the recovery of Groundforce, reinforcing our commitment to deliver industry-leading services to airline and airport customers across the region.”