Kenya Airways host the RISE Program 2025 kick-off event

SkyTeam’s RISE Women’s Leadership Development Program kicked off its 2025 edition on 3 March with a two-day event in Nairobi, Kenya. The event, hosted by Kenya Airways, brought program participants together from across the alliance’s global member airlines. Our third RISE cohort represents diverse functional roles in aviation across operations, finance, commercial, human resources and more.

With the theme of ‘Career Progression Through Elevation of Leadership Skills,’ the 2025 curriculum will cover three educational blocks: ‘How to be a mindful, impactful and inclusive leader’; ‘How to lead effective conversations and convey your story’; and ‘How to drive structural change in your organization.’ Participants began the first part of the nine-month program at the event in Nairobi.

Sponsors for RISE 2025 include Kenya Airways CEO, Allan Kilavuka, and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Hellen Mwariri, as well as SkyTeam Vice President of Marketing & Sustainability, Evgenia Starkova. Also in attendance at the kick-off event in Nairobi was SkyTeam CEO, Patrick Roux.

“No one can drive change alone: that’s why alliances are so important. Advancing gender equity in aviation, especially for women in leadership, requires collective effort and at SkyTeam we consider this an important responsibility. Together with our member airlines and through initiatives like RISE, we can transform the industry – one step at a time,”

Patrick Roux, SkyTeam CEO.

“Kenya Airways is dedicated to fostering diversity as a foundation for a stronger, more innovative aviation industry. We are committed to building a future where leadership is defined by talent, skill and vision—and not gender. Through sponsoring RISE 2025, we are honored to play a role in creating opportunities for women and driving gender equality across the aviation sector. Women in aviation are not only shaping the present, but they are defining the future,”

Allan Kilavuka, Kenya Airways CEO and RISE 2025 Airline Sponsor.

“As the RISE program enters its third year, its mission remains just as relevant as ever. While progress has been made, women in aviation still face barriers to career advancement and underrepresentation continues to be a challenge. At SkyTeam, we are inspired by the level of engagement in prior years and are applying key learnings to continuously evolve the program. Our goal is to make RISE as impactful as possible for the incredible leaders in our 2025 cohort, with an eye on program longevity and growth in the future,”

Evgenia Starkova, SkyTeam Vice President of Marketing & Sustainability and RISE 2025 Sponsor.

This year’s 28 RISE participants will progress through the program’s education blocks in the coming months, completing the curriculum in November 2025. The culmination of the program will be a practical project focused on developing a personal leadership action plan that participants can use as a catalyst for continued advancement after the program concludes.