Heathrow secures Virgin Media, GC, help steer it through constant Covid-19 unrest

Heathrow secures Virgin Media, GC, help steer it through constant Covid-19 unrest

Virgin Media's general counsel, Mine Hifzi for the UK and Ireland secures the top legal job at Heathrow Airport in July 2022

Mine Hifzi is set to take over replacing longstanding GC Carol Hui, who stepped down as GC in August 2021.

Hifzi joins at a challenging time for Heathrow, which earlier in 2021 reported as £2bn annual loss after passenger numbers fell during the Covid-19 pandemic to levels never experienced since the 1970s. A spokesperson at the time said the loss "underlines the devastating impact of Covid-19 on aviation."

The airport, which lost its status as Europe's busiest airport in 2020, was also hit by the departure of three of its eight senior executive in the summer. Andrew Macmillan and Chris Garton, chief strategy officer and chief solutions officer, respectively, departed alongside Hui.

John Holland-Kaye Chief executive informed the Telegraph at the time that Hui had been "instrumental" in leading the airport to success with the Airports Commission recommendation for growth and subsequent legal petitions that ended with a ruling in the Supreme Court in December, 2021. It facilitated it to seek planning permission to build a third runway. The scheme has been debateable with environmental campaigners, who argue it goes against the government's policy of eradicating almost all carbon emissions from the economy by 2050.

Holand-Kaye further told the Telegraph in August, "Carol is probably the best in-house lawyer in the UK and has been a trusted advisor to me and the board." "We will take a little time to select an apt person to succeed her as general counsel," added he.

Hifzi has spent almost eight years at Virgin Media in London, where her LinkedIn profile revealed that she was responsible for legal, regulatory, company secretarial, public affairs, sustainability and privacy matters as a member of its executive committee. She was also a co-sponsor of its Empower Network emphasising on under-represented ethnic groups.

Earlier she had a stint at broadcast media company Scripps Networks Interactive as SVP for international commercial and legal affairs. She has also spent 13 years as SVP and GC for US mass media company Discovery.

A Heathrow spokesperson said Hifzi brings "considerable legal and commercial know-how," adding that "her most recent experience with regulatory, political and consumer issues at Virgin Media will be highly applicable in her new role at Britain's hub airport".

Heathrow avoided responding to a request for comment regarding the responsibilities taken as the GC since Hui's retirement. Its website does not list an interim general counsel. Nigel Milton is listed as the airport's chief of staff, Chris Annetts as chief strategy officer and Helen Elsby as chief solutions officer.