Area of Expertise: Marketing
Zeeshan Akhtar is an aviation and commercial strategy leader with extensive experience across airport commercialisation, passenger experience, marketing, sales, and business development. As Chief Commercial Officer at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Nigeria, he leads the commercial transformation of the airport’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, with a focus on strengthening aeronautical revenues, route development, non-aeronautical businesses, commercial property, passenger experience, and air cargo infrastructure.
Prior to his current role, Zeeshan spent nearly four years at Manohar International Airport, Goa, where he held leadership responsibilities across non-aeronautical commercial strategy, retail development, services, advertising, marketing, alliances, and passenger experience. His work has focused on building revenue streams, optimising commercial P&Ls, developing strategic partnerships, and transforming passenger touchpoints into commercially valuable experiences.
He brings a distinctive combination of aviation commercial strategy, marketing, sales, operations, and engineering quality experience, having previously worked with Honda Cars India and Birla Sun Life Insurance. His approach combines innovation with established business strategies to create sustainable revenue growth and enhance customer experience.
Areas of Expertise
- Airport Commercial Strategy & Revenue Optimisation
- Airline Business Development & Route Monetisation
- Non-Aeronautical Revenue & Commercial Concessions
- Retail, F&B, Duty-Free & Advertising
- Airport Marketing, Branding & Alliances
- Passenger Experience & Customer Engagement
- Airport Real Estate & Commercial Property Development
- Air Cargo & Logistics Infrastructure
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
- Sales & Business Development
- Strategic Partnerships & Commercial Negotiations
- P&L Management & Yield Optimisation
Career & Professional Highlights
- Serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Nigeria, leading commercial transformation across aeronautical, non-aeronautical, property, passenger experience, and cargo businesses.
- Leads airline business development and route monetisation, including securing domestic, regional and international routes and negotiating long-term commercial agreements with airline partners.
- Drives development of retail, F&B, duty-free, advertising, airport lounges, logistics parks and commercial real estate to maximise non-aeronautical revenue.
- Previously served as AGM – Non-Aeronautical Commercial at Manohar International Airport, Goa, leading retail, services, F&B and advertising portfolios and optimising non-aeronautical P&L performance.
- Achieved ₹545 Sales per Passenger (SPP) at Manohar International Airport, outperforming key benchmark airports.
- Launched the first curved advertising anamorphic screen at an Indian airport, creating an estimated annual revenue potential of approximately ₹8 crore.
- Expanded the airport’s non-aeronautical commercial portfolio to 97% commercial space occupancy through marquee brand partnerships.
- Previously served as Head – Marketing, Alliances & Passenger Experience at Manohar International Airport, helping build the airport’s brand, passenger engagement and commercial ecosystem from launch.
- Conceptualised and launched GOX PASS, generating approximately ₹3 crore in revenue within seven months, while also contributing to improved passenger perception and airport recognition.
- At Honda Cars India, managed regional sales and marketing initiatives, dealer performance, lead generation, sales funnel optimisation and market penetration strategies.
- Earlier worked in quality engineering and new model quality at Honda Cars India, contributing to quality improvement, reliability and customer satisfaction initiatives for major vehicle programmes including Amaze and City.
- At Birla Sun Life Insurance, led branch operations, sales and distribution, delivering 155% of revenue targets through team management and channel expansion.
- Holds an Executive MBA from Great Lakes Institute of Management, with specialisations in Marketing and Operations.
- Holds a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia, combining technical and commercial expertise.