Future Travel Experience (FTE) is pleased to announce that Southwest Airlines’ Senior Emerging Trends Advisor Kevin Kleist is supporting our next steps by becoming FTE’s Head of Innovation, Digitalisation & Startup Engagement. Kevin carries on with his very important work for Southwest, while also helping to drive FTE forward with particular emphasis on nurturing and developing the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, which was recently relaunched with a new line-up of Captains, new community-focused approach, new pricing model, and a dedicated focus on AI, Robotics & IoT for the next year.
Kevin has spent over 17 years with Southwest where he leads the Emerging Trends practice, building meaningful relationships throughout the open innovation ecosystem for collaboration with innovation-driven companies and startups to study, design, develop, and test emerging technologies in real-world environments. Through those collaborations, Kevin gathers key insights and learnings that are used to better understand a solution’s viability, its risks, and how the solution would integrate with the company’s existing technology and infrastructure. He has also been a Captain of the FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group (BIWG) since the group’s inception and ever-present as Southwest’s lead for its membership of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub.
Commenting on the new appointment, Daniel Coleman, Founder & CEO, Future Travel Experience, said: “We have been working hard in the background to take our in-house expertise on digital transformation to the next level and Kevin is not just a great guy, collaborator and communicator, but he is somebody who is always a step ahead in understanding what is coming next and how it can be applied to improve a business, and our sector at large. This is a very exciting new era for the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub and while we are already working with over 20 Corporate Partners and 435 startup members, I think we are only scratching the surface of what this community could become and achieve. I know Kevin will do a phenomenal job curating content, driving discussions and knowledge-sharing, and expanding the membership base, while also offering invaluable ideas and input to enhance the whole FTE portfolio.”
Kevin Kleist commented: “Having been very active within the FTE Hub, BIWG and FTE events in recent years, I know first-hand just how valuable the efforts of the FTE team are in bringing together the most forward-thinking airlines, airports, vendors, investors, government agencies and startups in the aviation industry. I have had the opportunity to learn from my peers in the industry and have worked with a number of pioneering startups and scaleups that can help improve our operations at Southwest. Through the Hub’s renewed commitment to collaborative experiences, we will share insights, expertise, and real-world applications of game-changing technologies such as AI, robotics, and IoT during our monthly member meetings, held both in-person and virtually. I am thrilled to support FTE in this role, where our shared excitement drives our commitment to support the members and drive change across the industry.”
Find out more about the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub >>
