Nick Diesel has been announced as the new managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, effective August 4, succeeding Phil Wardlaw who has been directing the cargo business in its digital transformation journey since 2021.

Diesel has been with Virgin Atlantic for nine years and during this time has held various senior leadership roles. Most recently he was vice president of financial planning, responsible for leading the team through the airline’s £1.5 billion recapitalisation, enabling its post-pandemic recovery.

With a background in strategy and operations consultancy at Deloitte, Diesel has worked across high-profile projects at Virgin Atlantic, including as finance lead for the Expanded Joint Venture agreement with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines.

Diesel said: “I am incredibly excited to take on this new challenge. Virgin Atlantic Cargo is one of the most important business units we have, and collectively this team delivered amazing achievements through the pandemic, enabling our recovery.

“As the world starts to normalise, every day they show an unrivalled ability to adapt to an ever-changing world, while maintaining a focus on our customers to deliver the best service possible.

“The cargo division continues on a successful trajectory for 2024 and I look forward to building on this with the team.”

Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Nick played a fundamental role during the pandemic transformation, and I know he’ll bring incredible enthusiasm, ambition, and experience to this role.

“Our cargo division offers fantastic opportunities for our people, and I look forward to working closely with Nick, as he leads the cargo team into its next phase.

Before Diesel takes up the role, the airline has announced that Mark Faulkner, head of cargo commercial, will be acting as interim managing director, starting June 3.

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