Simon McNamara joined Heart Aerospace in 2023 as its Director Government & Industry Affairs responsible for leading their interaction globally with government bodies, regulators and industry stakeholders.

Prior to Heart, Simon led IATA’s United Kingdom & Ireland office engaging with Government across a range of policy areas.

Previously he was Director of Communications at the UK regional airline Flybe and prior to that he worked in EU affairs for 18 years ending with a term as Director General of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), a European trade body representing regional airlines.

Simon has a degree in Aeronautical Engineering (1994) from City University, London and an MSc from Cranfield University in Air Transport Management (1995). He is a current Board Member at ERA.