As Head of Special Cargo at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Dr Sonia Ben Hamida leads the development of the special cargo agenda, delivering standards, business processes, and solutions for the air cargo supply chain related to the transport of live animals, perishables, and temperature-sensitive cargo, and all other special cargo. Prior to joining IATA, Sonia held several roles in France where she spent 8 years driving innovation in the aerospace industry. Then she joined academia in 2019 as a lecturer and researcher at EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and UNIGE, the University of Geneva. Over the past 12 years, I have built a strong expertise in project management, innovation, design, and business and systems modeling. Sonia holds an engineering degree in Aviation and Computer Science from the French Civil Aviation University – ENAC (France) and a PhD in Innovation from CentraleSupélec (France).