Tim Clark will retire as the president of Emirates Airlineat the end of June 2020 after
more than three decades at the statecontrolled business that has helped to transform Dubai into one of the world’s major travel crossroads. Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said on Tuesday Dec. 24 in an internal memo to staff that Clark would stay on as an adviser to thecompany.
“ T h r o u g h w a rs, e c o n o m i c recessions, disasters natural or manmade, and various industry upheavals, Tim has ably steered and grown Emirates to its standing today as the world’s largest
international airline, and an eminent player in the global airline industry,” Sheikh Ahmed said in the memo. An Emir a t e s s p o k e swoma n confirmed the retirement. Clark, 70, joined the airline as a
founding member in 1985, having previously worked at Gulf Air and Caledonian Airways. The British national became Emirates’ president in 2003. “Tim is a giant of the industry. He had the vision behind Emirates and has  cultivated the airline to where it is today,” said independent aviation consultant John
Strickland.Knighted in 2014 for his services to British prosperity and theaviation industry, Clark has since been referred to by many in the industry, including those at Emirates, as “Sir Tim”. Sheikh Ahmed, a member of Dubai’s ruling family who has been the airline’s chairman since inception, praised Clark as
being central to Emirates success and Dubai’s emergence as a global aviation hub. “His achievements are too many to recount individually, but they will all be  remembered,” he said in the memo.