Dieter to head Swissport Cargo in Germany and Austria

Henning Dieter has been appointed as the head of Swissport Cargo Services, Germany and Austria.

He succeeds Dirk Schmitt, who left the company in December 2019 after heading the Swissport Cargo operation in Germany and Austria since February 2015.

Since Schmitt’s departure, Andrea Führing, chief financial officer of Swissport Cargo Germany, has been leading the organisation on an interim basis.

Dieter is an “experienced senior executive in the logistics and aviation industry”. His most recent role was the general manager airfreight Germany with Yusen Logistics.

Prior to joining Yusen Logistics, he was with DHL as branch manager airfreight and with Aviapartner as a managing director. During his 19 years with Lufthansa Cargo, he held several executive roles.

Dieter will oversee the strategic and operational management of Swissport’s 13 cargo warehouses in the two countries, the largest of which are in Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart. Initially, his focus will be on steering the organisation through the coronavirus related business recovery.

The completion of the new Swissport warehouse at Frankfurt airport, scheduled to go into operation in November 2020, will be another major event, the company said.

Dieter will report to Willy Ruf, senior vice president central and eastern Europe.

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“We are pleased to welcome Dieter as the new head of Swissport Cargo Services Germany and Austria,” said Ruf. “He can build on many years of relevant professional experience in cargo supply chain management and in the aviation industry in general.”

“While his biggest challenge will initially be to safely steer our business through the recovery phase of the current market crisis, we hope to soon turn our focus on further optimising the airfreight supply chain.”