Anne Rigail

It’s hard to imagine trickier conditions to navigate for Rigail, who is less than two years into her tenure atop Air France. She came into the job facing an aging fleet of airplanes, stiff competition from low-cost carriers, and earlier this year, French labor disputes. Then came the pandemic that all but ground the travel industry to a halt. Rigail, who has committed to ambitious sustainability goals, has used the moment to accelerate restructuring plans. Results for 2020 will not be pretty, though; despite implementing strict hygiene measures and an Air France Protect program, revenue for the airline was down 70% year over year in August.