2026 AGIFORS Council Election
The AGIFORS Council consists of at least eight members and is responsible for governing and administering to the AGIFORS community. The positions on the council currently include President, Vice-President, Past-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Symposium Chair, Symposium Technical Chair, Membership Secretary, Communications Officer.
Our current President David Foster will serve as Past President, and seven candidates are elected to the Council by means of this election. Consequently, each AGIFORS Member and Fellow will be able to cast seven votes across the ten candidates, with a maximum of one vote per candidate.
Short bios of each candidate and their involvement with AGIFORS so far can be found below.
Voting is open until Friday, 31 July 2026 (Midnight EDT).
MICHAEL CLARKE
Over the last three decades, I have played an active role in AGIFORS ranging for initially a symposium delegate in Atlanta (1996) as the graduate student through rising to president of the council. I have volunteered in several capacities including webmaster, study group coordinator, co-chair of the Airline Operations study group (20 years), council member, president, and past president. MICHAEL E IRRGANG
I have been active in AGIFORS as a delegate, presenter, airline host, and study group co-chairman since first presenting an innovative approach to disruption management at the AGIFORS Crew & Operations Conference, Rio de Janeiro, in 1987. I have been involved in decision support for disruption management ever since then, most recently presenting a proposed AI solution in Barcelona in April 2026. My career in aviation started with building systems at Texas Instruments, then working in Operations at American Airlines, LAN Chile (LATAM), Air Jamaica, and Boeing. I am now starting an airline operation efficiency consulting company, focusing on disruption management and fuel conservation. I hosted Airline Operations in 2001 in Ocho Rios. I have been co-chairman of Operations since 2019, and organized a virtual conference in 2020 as the only spring conference, with 449 delegates. Given my multiple past AGIFORS and aviation roles, I would hope to make a positive contribution to the AGIFORS Council. Sébastien Lemaire
Over the course of my education and professional career, I have developed strong expertise in Information Technology, Yield Management, Operations Research, Data Science, and Machine Learning. One of my most significant achievements was leading, together with my team, the design and delivery of a state-of-the-art Revenue Management System for Air France-KLM, built entirely on Big Data technologies and advanced Artificial Intelligence. I subsequently served as a senior manager within the Air France-KLM Pricing and Revenue Management Department, where I was responsible for PRM Information Systems and led a team of more than 40 business analysts. Seeking a new challenge, I then moved into the role of Chief Information Officer at Transavia France, the Group’s low-cost airline, where I operated in a fast-paced, agile environment supporting rapid growth and transformation. Throughout my career, I have maintained a strong focus on innovation, talent development, and the successful management of large-scale projects. In 2025, I took on a new role as Head of Data, Operations Research, and Artificial Intelligence at Air France-KLM. Eric Ruhlin Eric Ruhlin
United Airlines It's been a privilege and a pleasure to be an AGIFORS Council member for three terms, and Treasurer for two of them. I appreciate AGIFORS' contributions to our industry, and the work involved in paying the bills and keeping the books in order is the least I can do. If you're not tired of me yet, I'd be glad to keep it going for one more term. It is an honor to be part of this community, and I am grateful for your trust. MARCEL SOL
For the last 10 years, I have been the (co-)chair of the Agifors Crew Management Study Group. It was recently suggested by a number of people that maybe the time is ripe to make a move into the Council also. Bazyli Szymanski
Bazyli Szymanski I started my airline career nearly ten years ago as a Pricing Analyst and have since been a part of the revenue management community. This journey took me to MIT, where I completed a PhD focused on revenue management methods, and back into industry roles combining applied research and commercial impact. I currently work for easyJet, where I am responsible for shaping the strategy of RM developments. For the past three years, I have served on the AGIFORS Council as Communications Chair, supporting our website and member engagement, as well as actively organizing recent Symposia. | Richard Cléaz-Savoyen
I have been in the airline industry for about 20 years, primarily in revenue management, and since a few years, also focusing on planning and scheduling optimization challenges. I initially had the opportunity to present my research at the end of my studies at AGIFORS, and it literally was a jumping board towards my professional career. I since participated to many study groups conferences and symposiums, and I have been part of the AGIFORS Council for 8 years, leading the Anna Valicek Award competition and developing the Ken Wang Scholars Program. I immensely value AGIFORS' role to share, showcase and disseminate research in OR & Advanced Analytics applied to the airline industry as much as its role as catalyst to stimulate careers, both academic and industrial. I wish to further contribute to this mission as part of the Council. Sémi Gabteni
I specialise in designing, developing, and deploying decision-support solutions for operational and business performance in air transportation. I hold a PhD in Computer Science from Université Paris Dauphine, specialising in Operations Research applied to commercial and operational optimisation. I have led Operations Research, decision-support, and data product teams at Boeing, Amadeus, Open Airlines, and Groupe Aéroports de Paris. My AGIFORS involvement began in 2000 with my first Symposium presentation and has continued through regular contributions to Symposia and Study Group meetings in Operations, Maintenance, and Strategic & Schedule Planning. I led the local organisation of the 2010 Symposium in Juan-les-Pins and the 2022 Symposium in Toulouse. Since 2012, I have served on the AGIFORS Council as Sponsorship Coordinator and, for the past ten years, as Technical Chair. I have also reviewed submissions for the Anna Valicek Award. This long-standing involvement has given me a deep understanding of AGIFORS’ operations and community spirit. If re-elected, I will focus on onboarding new Council members and future leaders; increasing participation in the Anna Valicek Award and Ken Wang Scholarship programmes; and preserving AGIFORS’ collaborative, welcoming, and intellectually stimulating environment. Lisa Noell
Lisa Noell I have been a member of AGIFORS for more than twenty years and am passionate about operations research and the aviation industry. I started my aviation career at American Airlines as an operations research analyst, focused on revenue management and demand forecasting. After sixteen years at AA and Sabre, I relocated to Seattle and joined Boeing working in market analysis, network and fleet planning and marketing analytics. I have lobbied for participation in AGIFORS with my past and current employers over the past twenty years. I strongly believe in AGIFOR’s mission in bringing together academia, airlines, OEMs, and vendors to provide unique opportunities for O.R. practitioners in the industry to connect and collaborate, improving results for the entire industry.
Sergey Shebalov Sergey Shebalov
Sabre Sergey’s career has been dedicated to design, development and adoption of Operations Research and Data Science models in airline industry at United Airlines and Sabre. He worked on and led projects in all AGIFORS domains. Sergey has large personal network of OR professionals at many airlines, universities and vendors that would allow him to promote AGIFORS among industry and involve more people in the AGIFORS community. He has been successful in mentoring young OR professionals and building OR teams and would like to leverage this experience in carrying out great AGIFORS traditions and passing them to the next generation.
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Michael Clarke
Mike Irrgang
Sébastien 
Mar
Richard Cléaz-Savoyen
Sémi Gabteni