Virgin Atlantic Leadership Team

Shai Weiss is Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Atlantic and an Executive Director of the Virgin Atlantic board.

Shai and the team are keenly focused on Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays together becoming the most loved travel company.

Shai joined Virgin Atlantic as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2014 from Virgin Management Ltd, where he had been an Investment Partner since 2012 and was a Founding Partner of Virgin Green Fund.  In January 2017 Shai assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer responsible for shaping the airline’s strategic position in the market, driving opportunities for new revenue, and leading the loyalty, alliances and marketing programs that distinguish the airline.  Through his role at Virgin Group Shai has been a member of the Virgin Atlantic board from summer 2012.

Shai has extensive financial and operational expertise. Prior to joining Virgin Group, he held several senior management positions at ntl:Telewest (now Virgin Media), the UK and Europe’s largest cable operator. Shai was part of the turn-around of ntl with roles including Managing Director of Consumer Products, Director of Operations, and Director of Financial Planning for the Consumer division. Shai was also behind the merger between Virgin Mobile UK and ntl:Telewest and the re-brand to Virgin Media.

Prior to ntl, Shai established the European office of early-stage technology venture fund JVP and was a senior associate with Morgan Stanley.

Shai also serves as a non-executive director of Checkpoint Software Technologies (NASDQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cyber security solutions to governments and corporate enterprises globally.

Shai holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BBA from City University of New York, Baruch College. He resides in London with his family, attends Arsenal games whenever he can, reads The New Yorker magazine from cover to cover and attempts to play basketball.

Phil Maher was appointed Executive Vice President of Operations in March 2013. He is responsible for the safe and reliable delivery of Virgin Atlantic’s flying programme and ensuring that the airline continues to deliver a best in class, customer-focused, operation.

Phil oversees the 2,700 people who work across Operations, which includes pilots, flight and ground operations, aircraft maintenance, engineering services, corporate safety, security and resilience, cargo operations, property services and training. He is also responsible for Virgin Atlantic’s international cargo operation.

He is the Accountable Manager for all regulatory approvals and certificates for Operations, Engineering, Safety and Security, and is the Executive sponsor for fleet transition projects including the B787, A332 and A350 entry-into-service. While at Virgin Atlantic he has led significant improvements in operational performance and reliability, developed significant product and service improvements and led numerous transformational projects.

Phil is a trustee of the Virgin Atlantic Foundation (VAF), supporter of the Virgineers Golf Society and a fellow of both the Chartered Management Institute and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

He began his aviation career in the Army Air Corps in Dublin. Following this, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business from Henley Business School before joining British Airways in 2004, where he held senior roles in Operations, Engineering and Safety and Security Management.

Phil’s passion for aviation stretches well beyond his day job, and he enjoys flying private aircraft and relaxing on the golf course.

Mark Anderson is Executive Vice President - Customer at Virgin Atlantic, responsible for all customer-facing teams, including Customer Experience insight, product and design, Contact Centres, Airports, Clubhouses, Inflight Services and Crew. Mark also leads our strategy team and has been instrumental in putting Customer at the heart of our goal to be the most loved travel company. Mark is a member of  the Virgin Atlantic Board of directors.

Before his appointment, Mark was Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Virgin Holidays where in less than 3 years, he developed a high performing team that achieved record people engagement scores and operating profits with strong customer advocacy. He has over 25 years of senior management experience in retailing and travel.

In his (rare) spare time, Mark is a qualified white water kayak coach and keen horse rider and lives in Kingston upon Thames. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language & Literature from the University of Southampton and studied with TIAS Business School in the Netherlands for a Masters in Retail Management.

Tom Mackay was appointed Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President in January 2017. He is responsible for the financial operations of the business and is focused on achieving profitable growth combined with a healthy return on capital deployed.  Legal, External Affairs and Fleet Planning also form part of Tom’s activities.

Tom has a 20 year career in finance, bringing a wealth of financial experience from roles spanning a number of different industries. Prior to joining Virgin Atlantic in September 2015, Tom served as Head of Finance for the Food business at Marks and Spencer PLC, and had previously held the role of International Head of Finance, responsible for all areas of finance within the M&S international business.

Previously he held roles  at  Logica PLC the FTSE 100 IT and Outsourcing group (now part of The CGI Group) as CFO for their International and Global Operations covering the America’s and Asia and prior to that Group Financial Controller , having begun his career at Ernst and Young now EY.

He is a Chartered Accountant, holding a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Durham university, is married with two children, and enjoys coaching kids’ sport, cycling and outdoor activities. 

Joe Thompson was appointed Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Virgin Holidays in January 2017. He is responsible for all aspects of Virgin Holidays' performance, ensuring it continues to be an industry leader in serving and delighting customers.

He joined Virgin Atlantic in 2003 and has built a wealth of experience in a number of leadership roles, most recently as Senior Vice President for Sales & Distribution. As part of this brief, Joe was responsible for the joint venture relationship with Delta Air Lines as well as the global sales team. 

Joe spent two years as General Manager Airport Operations, where he led great progress in operational performance and customer service across the network. He became Director of Short Haul and Joint Venture Performance in spring 2013, before taking on the role of SVP Network and Alliances in 2014. Earlier in his Virgin Atlantic career, Joe led country teams in both Hong Kong and India with responsibility for all Virgin Atlantic’s passenger activities in those territories.

Joe has a MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge. He is a keen cyclist and occasionally commutes by bike from his home in Richmond to his office in Crawley.

Nikki joined Virgin Atlantic as Senior Vice President - People in March 2017 and is responsible for the People team which includes Corporate Communications, Occupational Health & Staff Travel.  Nikki is also responsible for the people strategy to ensure our staff are at the heart of what we do. She is passionate about helping people be at their best to deliver brilliantly to our customers.

Nikki has over 20 years HR leadership experience across many sectors and joined Virgin Atlantic from Lloyds Banking Group. She held a number of HR leadership roles during the 15 years at Lloyds, more recently as HR Director for Scottish Widows and People Director for the Talent & Development centre of excellence for the whole group. She is passionate about inclusion and diversity in the workplace by giving opportunities to all.

Nikki holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology & Politics from Aston University and is a corporate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. She is married with four children and enjoys running, swimming and skiing.

Ash Jokhoo was appointed Senior Vice President Technology at Virgin Atlantic in February 2019 and is responsible for the technology strategy that will make us the most loved travel company.

Ash is driven by beautifully resolved, customer driven tech and has spent the last decade transforming and helping customer centric organisations.

Most recently in Centrica - British Gas, Ash has held a number of technology transformation roles, helping the company modernise over the last 6 years. Prior to this Ash drove digital service transformations in roles across the FTSE at TalkTalk, Tiscali and British Telecom.

Ash is passionate about building capabilities and teams that drive technology so customers have well-designed amazing experiences - making him a perfect fit with the Virgin ethos.

Ash holds a BSc Hons in Engineering Product Design from Southbank University London.
He lives in Surrey with his family; surrounded by art, design, cats and a dog. Ash has a healthy passion for most types of motor sports, film and music. He thinks he is a fairly good DJ. His family is less convinced.