Top appointment for DHL executive

Spiga steps into his new role from his position of Country Services Manager for DHL UAE, the Emirates' leading air express supplier.

His appointment has been announced by Bahrain-based DHL Regional Director Phil Couchman.

"Bachi' Spiga is a classic employee committed to taking our industry to new levels of excellence," says Couchman.

Spiga, 37, who has an express industry career spanning 19 years, and held senior positions with the company in Britain and Italy, will initially remain stationed in Dubai.

Among his main accomplishments for DHL UAE has been presiding over an operations system that has been honoured for producing the best on-time performance in the DHL international network.

Another key area of achievement during Spiga's tenure has been in the IT field with the speed of information reaching the DHL network in the Middle East being noted as the fastest in the company's global network.

Spiga says his new role will involve "harmonising and standardising our operations in 10 countries, getting them to work the same way."

He says: "It's all part of a collective effort that maintains our position as the best in the industry. I'll continue to be involved in strengthening ISO procedures. The duties in my new job overlap the old one, for sure."

Spiga also had a hands-on role as DHL doubled its investment in the UAE over the past two years.

"We've invested heavily to strengthen our network and infrastructure as we continue to successfully adapt to a constantly changing business environment," he says.

He also oversaw the DHL UAE role in the stringent selection process for the Dubai Quality Awards and Sheikh Khalifa Awards, both of which returned gold medals to the courier company.

Spiga is a highly-regarded sportsman, particularly in football and go-karting. He plays football for the DHL Dragons and is one of the DHL UAE team that took part in the recent Middle East International Pro-Kart Series.

The top karting teams are professional but the amateur DHL UAE team put in some inspired performances against them throughout the just-completed season. DHL is a powerhouse in karting and the Bahrain-owned A team won the Middle East Series and three of the season's four races.