Hernán Rincón

Hernán Rincón has been Avianca Holdings CEO since April 2016. Under his leadership, the Airline has refocused all its organization and resources around the customer experience and has begun a journey towards the digital transformation of the entire business. Initial achievements in that transformation include: Carla, the first bot of Latin America to support customers in their travel journey in Facebook; the redesign and relaunch of both Avianca’s web site along and its mobile app; the installation of connected tablets in the airbus fleet’s cockpits, and the upcoming launch of wi-fi in Avianca’s aircrafts.

Accordingly, Mr. Rincón has launched a new corporate strategy prioritizing the overall customer satisfaction, attracting world class talent and deploying the latest digital technologies to enhance the travel experience. The company is also proactively expanding its route network by launching multiple new routes and frequencies, modernizing its fleet, digitalizing all processes and strengthening the “safety and service” culture. He has also led the improvement of Avianca’s operational and financial performance setting the company’s best records in years.

Similarly, Mr. Rincon has consistently worked in diversifying Avianca Holdings’ source of revenue by building up other complementary business units such as Cargo; Airport and Ground Handling Services; package carrier Deprisa, Travel Tours, MRO; Duty Free; Simulator Training and Lifemiles, its loyalty program. Today these business units already account for 22% of the overall AVH revenue.

2017 was a landmark year regarding strategic and commercial partnerships. Mr. Rincon has led the alliance negotiations with United Airlines which will be a milestone in Avianca’s strategic plan. Likewise, he has directed the potential merger with Avianca Brazil.

Under his management, Avianca was recognized for its costumer centric approach, operational excellence, and its commitment to innovation. Among other recognitions, Avianca was awarded “Best Airline in South America” by SKYTRAX, “Best airline in Latin America” by TripAdvisor; “Second Best Airline in the World” according to OCU (Organization of Consumers and Users), and was honored by Airbus with the award for “Best Operational Performance of A320 fleet” in the Americas.

Prior to his position as Avianca’s CEO, Hernán Rincón was with Microsoft for 14 years where he was the President of the Latin America Region. He was responsible for the long-term business strategy for the 46 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean in which Microsoft has presence. As a result of his leadership in Microsoft, the region’s business tripled and achieved the highest customer satisfaction in its history.

Preceding Microsoft Mr. Rincon worked for Unisys for 11 years, where he held several positions at the company’s global headquarters in Pennsylvania, USA, including Global Chief Information Officer and Worldwide Vice President of the Financial Services Line of Business.

A Harvard University graduate, Mr. Rincón holds a Master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Prior to that, he received a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the Andes University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the State University of New York, where he graduated first in his class and received the Gerson B. Robison award for Excellence in Mathematics.

Mr. Rincón has been honored with numerous other awards, including the prestigious Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, awarded by the President of the United States and the coveted Edward S. Mason Fellowship granted by Harvard University.

Hernán Rincón and his wife Elvira Garcia are residents of Florida, USA. He has raised funds for charities and non-profit organizations, including the Trust for the Americas (OAS) and the Brain Tumor Research Foundation. Mr. Rincón is also an avid reader, interested in digital technology, astronomy, linguistics and evolutionary biology of the brain.