Liz Aluvanze (born circa 1990) is a Kenyan

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

, businesswoman, aviation consultant and corporate executive, who has been the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Kenya Association of Air Operators (KAAO) since September 2022. The association brings together operators of helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, hot air balloons, remotely-piloted drones, approved aviation maintenance organizations and approved aviation training institutions in Kenya.

Background and education

Aluvaze was born in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya's capital city. She is the first born in a family of four siblings (three sisters and one brother). The family first lived in Buruburu; they later relocated to

Kilimani Kilimani is a mixed-use commercial and residential neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. Location Kilimani is located approximately west of Nairobi's central business district, within Westlands Sub-county. It is north of Woodley; east of K ...

. For her primary schooling, she attended Loreto Primary School before transferring to Makini School. She attended Precious Blood Secondary School (Riruta) for her O-Level education. She completed her A-Level education at

Brookhouse School Brookhouse School (also known as Brookhouse International School) is an independent British curriculum co-educational day and boarding school that offers early years, preparatory and secondary schooling. The first and main campus is located ...

. Aluvanze excelled at all levels of her pre-university education. In 2010, she was admitted to the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in the United Kingdom. She graduated three years later with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. She transferred to

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...

, also in the United Kingdom, where she graduated with a Masters in Air Transport Management degree. During the 2019/2020 academic year, she studied and obtained a Certificate in Project Management from the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

Career

As of October 2022, Aluvaze's professional career has spanned over eight years. She started out in 2014, as an operations intern at

Fastjet Fastjet Limited is an African airline that began flight operations in 2012. It is headquartered in Johannesburg and serves regional flights between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. History Initial proposals In June 2012, to start ope ...

, at their headquarters at that time, at

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

in the United Kingdom. She relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, working as the commercial operations manager for Aberdair Aviation Group. She then worked for

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its Airline hu ...

and later for the

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is a state corporation of Kenya that is responsible for regulating the aviation industry in Kenya and for providing air navigation services in the Kenya flight region. The KCAA offers training in the aviation ...

. Her expertise spans "air transport, commercial services, fleet development, air law, and engineering services, technical and flight operations". At KAAO, she replaced

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

(Retired) Eutychus K. Waithaka, who had been the association's CEO for the previous 25 years.

Other considerations

After she left KCAA but before she was appointed CEO at KAAO, she ran her own aviation consultancy called Skylar Consult Limited.

References

External links

Personal profile at LinkedIn.com

Official website of KAAO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aluvaze, Liz Living people 1990s births People from Nairobi Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Cranfield University University of California alumni Kenyan women in business Kenyan business executives Kenyan chief executives Kenyan women chief executives 21st-century Kenyan women engineers 21st-century Kenyan engineers