Qatar Airways has elevated Kate Ling to Senior Vice President – People Operations, bringing her experience across human resources, finance and global business services to the airline’s people function.
Ling announced the appointment on LinkedIn, saying, “I’m delighted to share that I’m stepping into a new role as Senior Vice President – People Operations at Qatar Airways.”
“After five years working across Global Business Services, I’m excited to be returning to my HR roots — but with a much broader perspective from my time in Finance,” she said.
Ling most recently served as Vice President, GBS Outstation Services, and before that, she was Head of Shared Services for Europe, the Americas and Africa. She joined Qatar Airways in 2020 as Senior Manager, Business Change.
Reflecting on her experience in global business services, Ling said it had strengthened her commercial acumen and reinforced “the importance of financial discipline, cost efficiency and data-led decision-making”.
“I’ve seen first-hand how clear accountability, strong governance and a relentless focus on value can transform the way an organisation operates,” she added.
In her new role, Ling aims to apply these lessons to People Operations, with a focus on improving HR processes and employee experience.
“I’m now excited to bring that experience back into People Operations, with an ambition to make HR simpler, more connected, more responsive and even more focused on enabling our people to perform at their very best through enhancing our employee experience,” she said.
Before joining Qatar Airways, Ling spent more than 11 years at British Airways in HR leadership roles. She also served as Head of International Human Resources, overseeing the international HR function across more than 70 countries. Her responsibilities included international shared services, rewards and business partnering, as well as managing teams supporting significant change programmes.
Ling holds a BA Honours degree in Economics and Politics from Newcastle University and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Looking ahead, she expressed enthusiasm about working with colleagues across HR and building relationships with her new team, adding: “There is a huge opportunity ahead, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”