Nabil Sultan is set to become Chief Executive Officer of dnata from 15 June 2026, marking an important leadership transition within the Emirates Group’s global ground handling and aviation services arm.
Sultan is no stranger to the group. He previously led Emirates SkyCargo for more than ten years as Divisional Senior Vice President, and most recently held the role of Executive Vice President for Passenger Sales and Country Management at Emirates. His move into the top dnata role reflects a continued internal progression built on long-standing experience across the group.
Over the years, he has held a range of senior positions within the Emirates Group since 2009, and earlier in his career between 1995 and 2008, he worked across multiple regions including the UK, India, West Asia, the Gulf and Europe, mainly in revenue optimisation and distribution roles before moving into executive leadership.
The current dnata Chief Executive, Steve Allen, will step down after leading the company since March 2021. His tenure has been marked by continued recovery and steady expansion across dnata’s global ground handling, cargo and travel businesses.
Allen joined the Emirates Group in 2009 and has since held several senior operational roles across ground services, cargo handling and airport hospitality in the UAE. From 2016, he was responsible for dnata’s UAE airport operations and cargo services before taking over the global travel division in 2020, where he led its international transformation strategy. Before joining Emirates, he spent 16 years at British Airways in commercial, operational and financial roles.
The leadership change comes at a sensitive time for the aviation sector and for Emirates Group operations, with ongoing disruptions affecting Middle East airspace and global supply chains linked to regional instability.
With Sultan’s appointment, dnata is continuing its strategy of promoting leadership from within as it expands its global footprint across ground handling, cargo logistics and travel services.
