Who we are

SimpliFlying Airports are the leading providers of branding and social Media strategy, knowledge and skill transfer to airports worldwide. It is a joint venture between SimpliFlying – the world’s leading airline brand consulting firm, and AirGate Solutions – who are market leaders in airport consulting. SimpliFlying Airports is headquartered out of Toronto, Canada and has presence in Singapore and New York City.

Here is a little more about the team behind SimplFlying Airports

Shashank Nigam is the CEO of SimpliFlying, the leading airline brand consultancy headquartered out of Singapore. Nigam is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of airline branding with PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. Considered one of the original thought leaders who paved the way for Airlines 2.0, Nigam is the youngest winner of the Global Brand Leadership Award, having led interactive programs for leading airlines, airports and even hotels, globally. Essentially, by driving engaging and profitable conversations between brands and customers.

SimpliFlying is recognized as one of the Top 2 blogs on aviation, by FlightGlobal, with its laser-sharp focus on airline brands. On Twitter, Nigam (@simpliflying) is one of the Top 5 most influential on airlines. He actively contributes his thoughts and experiences through keynotes, industry appearances, books, articles and essays as a way of helping the airline industry understand and embrace the new dynamics fueling an evolutionary genre of marketing, service, and influence. Aviation industry veteran Ludo Van Vooren refers to Nigam “… as a prophet converting one aerospace business at the time to the brave new ways of Social Media.”

Nigam has received a lot of attention for his ideas concerning airline branding and social media, having been interviewed on CNN Travel, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg UTV, NDTV Profit and in leading press like Airline Business, ATW, The Straits Times, Aviation Week, DARE and The Indian Express over the past year.

Nigam studied Information Systems Management and Business Management at Singapore Management University and Carnegie Mellon University. He was born and brought up in New Delhi, spent most of his adolescent years in Singapore and currently resides in Vancouver and Singapore.

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Robert Cook is the co-Founder and Managing Director of AirGate Solutions. He has over 20 years experience in the aviation industry, in which he was actively involved in new business development, consultancy and ancillary revenue activities.

Over the past 30 years, Robert has held key senior roles with global organizations such as GE, Westinghouse, AT&T, Northrop Grumman, SITA and BT Global Services. He founded and currently serves as Chairman of Blackstone Gates, a consultancy, focused on business transformation and customer-centered strategies with projects ranging from customer experience management, revenue generation initiatives, ancillary airline revenues and airport retail.

He has worked with airlines such as American, Delta, Continental and Alaska Airlines in the Americas; Korean, Qantas, Singapore and Thai in Asia-Pacific; and Air France, Alitalia, Czech and Emirates in EAME. His airport assignments include Toronto, Manchester, London Luton, Amsterdam, Dubai, Sydney, Singapore, Budapest and abertis Airports. Robert has served on the board of the CDLC, Fittings Inc., and Symbols Interactive Media.

He also serves on a number of advisory boards of new ventures. Mr. Cook holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Robert is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops on the subject of customer engagement in the aviation industry and a regular contributor to specialist media on the subject.

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Craig Stark is a co-Founder of AirGate Solutions (on Twitter, @airgatesolution) and is responsible for developing and deploying client strategic and architectural blueprints pertaining to social media strategy and the deployment of web 2.0 platforms and technologies. Craig is President of Change Impetus Group Inc. a mid market consultancy offering creative business development solutions. Craig founded Social Media Wave with partnerships in all the key foundations of social media marketing and analytics.

Craig’s extensive experience in business development includes direct sales, channel partner and distribution sales, partner marketing and M+A experience. His latest roles as business development manager were with start ups such as eCommerce Inc. and sales/territory manager for large corporations such as Banyan Systems, Microsoft, 3Com and Bell Canada. He has worked in the high technology marketplace with experience in manufacturing, distribution, insurance, accounting, telecommunications and media sectors.

Craig is a Certified Engineering Technologist in Electronics Engineering and has many years of professional development with certifications in sales, marketing and business from the University of Ottawa, Canada. Craig is a hands on web 2.0 developer and has experience with all web 2.0 and social media platforms including Location Based Marketing Services.

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