Dame Carolyn McCall receives from Ambassador Terracciano the knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy, bestowed upon her by the Italian President.
Dame Carolyn McCall was made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy (Cavaliere OSI) at this embassy yesterday evening. The decoration was presented by Ambassador Pasquale Terracciano, on behalf of the Italian president.
This award is bestowed upon people who have acquired special merits in the promotion of friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and other countries along with the promotion of ties with Italy. It is conferred by the President of the Republic, head of the order, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Dame Carolyn McCall is due to officially start next month in her new position of chief executive of ITV after seven years as CEO of EasyJet, during which time she placed the connections between Italy and the UK at the heart of the EasyJet European network. Her efforts helped successfully expand the airline, considerably increasing the volume of passengers since she took over in 2010. Since then, EasyJet has also become the third largest airline in Italy, offering more than 200 routes locally.
During Dame Carolyn McCall’s time at its helm, Easyjet has hugely facilitated travel in Europe for Italians through its affordable flights and has in the process changed the way people fly in Europe allowing them to travel quickly and cheaply like never before. This has allowed many more Europeans to discover Italy, accessing it through one of the 17 airports served by the airline across the country.”
Dame Carolyn received this distinction also for the hundreds of sustainable jobs for people both in Italy and the UK, that EasyJet has created. In Italy, the airline employs over 1300 people across its 3 bases under local contracts which are widely recognized in the industry to be among the best available in Italy.
EasyJet has laid solid foundations in Italy and Europe as it has developed a resilient and sustainable business model under Dame Carolyn McCall’s leadership. This has provided an exemplary framework for EasyJet’s new CEO Johan Lundgren and will allow the company to go from strength to strength through continuously building on the energy and momentum EasyJet has.
Ambassador Terracciano said: “This award is bestowed in recognition of a great manager, who has helped develop Italy as a tourist and business destination and has fostered the aviation integration of Europe, for the benefit of Italian, British and European customers.”
Dame Carolyn McCall commented: “I am very pleased to receive this honour which is a reflection of the hard work and the passion and commitment of the Italian team. I am confident that they will ensure that Easyjet in Italy goes from strength to strength in the future.”