ECS Group strengthens regional leadership with new COO appointment EDS Group has hired Francisco Hernandez as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Americas as the company looks to expand further across the continent. Hernandez will work with Joao Ferreira, Chief Commercial Officer of the Americas, to create a more integrated organization ready to grow, while keeping strong customer relationships and a deep knowledge of the local markets in his new role.
Hernandez has been working with ECS Group’s commercial, customer service and operational teams in the United States for 16 years. During his time there he has gained an extensive knowledge of the group’s operations, airline partners, internal teams, local market conditions and customer needs.
The nomination underscores the ECS Group’s wish to improve coordination across the Americas and develop a more integrated operating model in the region.
As COO, Hernandez will focus on expanding and enhancing airline partnerships, creating flexible solutions to specific market needs, and integrating digital capabilities to improve client service. He will also be responsible for the coordination of regional activities and the operational implementation of the group’s strategy in the Americas.
Hernandez will work closely with Ferreira on commercial priorities to shape an organization that can adapt to evolving market conditions and expand its activities while retaining the customer focus and local expertise associated with ECS Group.
“The appointment supports the company’s broader ambition to reshape the traditional General Sales Agent (GSA) business model by combining digital capabilities with human expertise to strengthen commercial resilience and support growth”, said Jean Ceccaldi, CEO of ECS Group.
Ceccaldi also pointed to Hernandez’s long-standing contribution to the business and his role in developing the group’s airline portfolio in the US and his understanding of CargoTech’s digital capabilities. “The appointment is a natural step for a professional who has had broad experience in one of the world’s most dynamic air cargo markets,” he said.
Hernandez says closer coordination between teams and markets will be key to the next phase of the group’s development in the region. He believes that a connected network across the Americas will unlock new opportunities and deliver greater value to customers.
This will include sharing market intelligence, coordinating key accounts and developing cross-border and interline traffic flows. Closer collaboration among local teams will allow them to better serve customers and provide quicker solutions throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hernandez has identified team connectivity and capability alignment as his top priorities, with the aim of establishing a consistent operating rhythm across the region. To improve service quality for airline partners, clear accountability, consistent performance management and faster escalation and decision-making processes are to be strengthened.
Digital transformation will also be critical to enhancing productivity, responsiveness and decision making across the Americas. The aim is to make customers experience ECS Group as a unified, coordinated organization, combining local market expertise with consistent operations, digital capabilities and the resources of the wider group.
