Air Charter Association Names IW Aviation Co-Founder Emily Williams as Next Chair, Effective January 2027
Why It MattersHanding the chair to a co-founder of a charter company shows how the sector's trade body draws its leadership from working operators, with continuity coming through long-serving board members.
What happened
The Air Charter Association (ACA) has appointed Emily Williams, co-founder of IW Aviation, as its next chairperson. She takes up the role on January 1, 2027.
Williams has served on the association's board since 2021. She succeeds Kevin Ducksbury, who held the chair for seven years.
The appointment was disclosed in October 2026, during the presentation of the annual Air Charter Excellence Awards. At that event, 11 companies and individuals were honored for excellence in charter operations, with Platoon Aviation, Titan Airways and Saxon Air among the recipients.
Industry impact & what to watch
A chair who co-founded an operating charter business and sat on the board for several years before taking the post is a typical route into leadership for a trade body of this kind. Such associations tend to rely on working members for governance, so the chair's commercial background shapes which issues, from member services to the association's public positions, get attention.
The hand-over from a seven-year chairperson to a long-serving board member also points to continuity rather than a reset. Announcing it at the awards ceremony tied the leadership news to the event that showcases the membership's operating standards.
The dated milestone is January 1, 2027, when Williams formally assumes the chair and Ducksbury's seven-year term ends.
