Faculty
Faculty
Title: General Manager, Hong Kong / Sustainability Advisor, Asia Region, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.
Area of Specialization: International Marketing and Product Management
Lecture Course: MBA in Globalization
Professional Background
As of February 2010, Paul was transferred to Hong Kong as the General Manager of the branch and also as Sustainability Advisor for the Asia Region. Prior to that, since September 2006, Paul Sands was General Manager for Virgin Atlantic in Japan, responsible for all aspects of the airline's operations in this market including sales, marketing, airport operations, finance and administration. Preceeding this posting, he was Senior Product Manager based in the UK, in charge of the Upper Class (Business Class) Cabin. During this time he presided over the launch of the award winning Upper Class Suite and the groundbreaking Heathrow Clubhouse, plus a host of other innovations around the globe. He has also spent time working with Virgin Nigeria Airlines based in Lagos, Priceline.com based in Hong Kong, and the Council on International Educational Exchange based in London and Tokyo. His first visit to Japan was in 1992 when he was an English Teacher on the JET Programme, based in Yokohama. Since then he has lived in Japan for a total of 8 years and is a fluent Japanese speaker.
Other Professional Activities
Executive committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan
Board member of the Japan British Society
Presentations at Professional Meetings and Universities
Has presented widely to professional groups such as the British Market Council and Forum for Corporate Communications, academic institutions such as Waseda University, and environmental forums such as the Green Mondays group and Asia Pacific intergovernmental panel on aviation and the environment.
Educational background
York University BA hons in English Literature.
Durham University MBA with Distinction.
Research
Ongoing research with Manchester Metropolitan University, Centre for Air Transport and the Environment.
Message
The Virgin group of companies represents one of the most dynamic challenger brands on the global stage. In this series of lectures on the MBA in Globalization we will explore some of the characteristics of the group with a particular focus on the airline sector, as well as discussing some of the current hot topics in this industry.
