Signature Aviation is sharpening its focus on customer engagement, creating a dedicated centralized team that will be led by Derek DeCross, the company announced last week at the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. As senior v-p of global customer engagement, DeCross will spearhead an initiative to enable Signature to better understand, anticipate, and respond to the real estate and aviation needs of its customers, the global FBO chain said.

“Creating a new customer-engagement team, led by Derek, is yet another example that Signature is fully committed to strengthening our focus on customers,” said Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre. “Derek’s background in aviation and hospitality makes him well suited for this role that will help shape the future of Signature's customer relationships.”

DeCross most recently was senior v-p of global sales for IHG Hotels & Resorts. There he led sales initiatives for IHG’s portfolio of 17 brands and also represented the company as a member of the US Travel & Tourism Advisory Board, the Business Travel News Advisory Board, and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International Board.

Before that, he spent 20 years with American Airlines in various capacities, including v-p of global sales.