NEC All change at the top Were delighted to announce our new leadership team at BALPA F ollowing National Executive Council (NEC) elections and a vote at ADC, Paul Copland (British Airways) has been elected as BALPAs new Executive President. He will be supported by Simon Williams (easyJet) as BALPAs Executive Vice-President. Paul and Simon will be joined on the NEC by: John Bell (Bristow) Kate Beesley (British Airways) Sean Casey (easyJet) Mike Davidson (British Airways) Andrew Hammond (British Airways) David Heaven (self-employed) Mark Karim (TUI) Simon Morgan (Virgin Atlantic) Miranda Rackley (Interim General Secretary) Hugh Sheils (easyJet) Adam Walker (TUI) Sam Walkinshaw (Jet2.com) Learn more about their roles and subcommittees at portal.balpa.org/page/ meet-the-nec Meet Paul For those who dont know him, Paul is an experienced rep who joined the NEC last year. In that time, he has chaired the NECs Industrial Relations sub-committee, helping to guide Company Councils through industrial negotiations. Paul believes strongly in the importance of a single BALPA uniting every representative at all companies, all our members whatever or wherever they fly, and all our staff. He has already written to all members, and you can read his message in full at portal.balpa.org/ news/1755589. A snippet of that message is below: We are a member-driven organisation, which means we must all participate. Your first job as a member is to hold accountable both me and the whole NEC to the high bar you deserve. You can do this either directly or through any of your representatives to whom I wrote with the same message, although ultimately the buck now stops with me. I have an excellent team with whom to move forward and a wealth of experience on which to draw. At conference, our honorary president, Lord Balfe, said: We must work together despite our differences and our unity is our strength. Lets now put these words at the very core of what we do as a union movement. We must be a strong and united voice for all whom we represent. As such, I ask that you first consider the good work those who represent you do before we concentrate on the issues that cause you to feel let down. Meet Simon Simon Williams known for his work as an easyJet rep, his writing for The Log magazine and his previous stint on the NEC will take up the post of vice-president. Simon has been a commercial airline pilot for 20 years, starting at Air Wales on ATR42s before I have an excellent team with whom to move forward and a wealth of experience joining easyJet in 2006, flying a mixture of Airbus A319/320/321s. For the vast majority of his time in easyJet, both in the right-hand and left-hand seats, Simon has been involved in BALPA, serving as a base rep for BRS and LGW, spending four years on the Company Council where he was the secretary for a significant period, followed by a four-year stint on the NEC where he chaired CERC and subsequently LSSC. Simon stood down in 2022 as he needed a break, but remained involved with the LSSC and continued as a base rep for easyJet. For 10 years, he has also been on The Log board and has been chief editor for most of that time. 12 THE LOG Win 24 pp12-13 BALPA s new leadership.indd 12 01/12/2023 14:37