SAS Names New Group Director and COO

Lars Sandahl Sørensen has been confirmed as the new Group Director and COO (Chief Operating Officer) of SAS.

The appointment is effective 1 May 2015.

Lars Sandahl Sørensen was previously Group Director and CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) of global services company ISS. Prior to that he worked for SAS from 2003 to 2010. He was initially MD of the airline’s then subsidiary company SAS International before being appointed Group Director for Commercial with responsibility for product development, network, revenue management and marketing.

Lars Sandahl Sørensen is currently a partner at Flensby & Partners and advisor to several Private Equity funds. He also holds a number of board positions.

“In Lars we are gaining a highly experienced manager and also a COO with solid experience in the aviation industry and a wide ranging background from other global businesses. Lars is returning to SAS at an incredibly exciting period when we are making major investments to renew our fleet at a time when the competition picture in the industry has radically changed. It is fantastic to welcome Lars back to SAS,” said Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of SAS.

Lars Sandahl Sørensen, said, “It will be incredibly exciting to get onboard once again and work with the best employees in the airline industry. SAS plays an extremely important role for Scandinavia with a strong offer to frequent flyers. I have enormous respect for the solid work that is being done with regard to safety and punctuality. I look forward to joining my new colleagues in delivering high quality services that are continuously being further developed and improved, and to help strengthen SAS’s position as Scandinavia’s leading airline.”

Lars will take up his position on 1 May 2015. Current Group Director for Operations, Flemming Jensen, will leave his post by 1 May 2015.