Badr Mohammed Al-Meer won the helm of Qatar Airways Group as Group CEO in November 2023, envisaging the leadership of the world's most awarded and financially successful airline group.
His appointment reflects both Qatar's long-term leadership plan and Almeer's track record of delivering complex multi-billion dollar aviation, infrastructure and real estate projects over 20 years.
Prior to his promotion to Group CEO, Al-Meer served as chief operating officer of Hamad International Airport (HIA) since 2014, overseeing the airport's successful expansion to a capacity of 65 million passengers per year. He also led key departments under the Qatar Airways Group, including Matar, Qatar Duty Free, Qatar Airways Services, Qatar Airways Catering Company, Diafatina and Real Estate Business. Under his leadership, HIA has been repeatedly named the best airport in the world, including the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Covid-19 period.
In his first national fiscal year as group CEO, Al-Meer provided the most powerful results in Qatar Airways Group's history. In fiscal year 2024/25, group profits skyrocketed 28% to 7.855 billion ($2.15 billion). Recognised as the world's leading air freight carrier, the freight sector recorded a 17% increase in revenue, supported by digitalization and data-driven optimization. Qatar Airways continues to operate with a global workforce of over 55,000.
Al-Meer introduces the airline's updated Qatar Airways 2.0 strategy, highlighting innovation, partnership and operational agility. Key milestones include securing a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, winning 25% of South Africa's Airlink, and expanding the aircraft's orders to maintain one of the world's youngest fleets. Qatar Airways also became the first global airline to equip the Boeing 777 Fleet with Starlink Super-Fast WiFi.
Earlier this year, Qatar Airways held its record ninth Skytrax “The World's Best Airline” title, along with awards such as “The World's Best Business Class”, “Best Airlines in the Middle East” and “Best Business Aviation Lounge”.
Al-Meer, a trained civil engineer, holds engineering degrees from the University of Beirut and the University of Colorado in the United States.
