Michael Cabral

Background

About Michael Cabral

Michael Cabral is the Chief of Staff at Congonhas Airport, one of Brazil’s busiest and most iconic airports. With over 12 years of experience in the airport industry, he has held leadership roles in Brazil's two primary international hubs and provided technical advisory services to main stakeholders across the air transport value chain: policymakers, civil aviation authorities, airport operators, airlines, ANSPs, financial institutions, and private investors. At ALG, he coordinated projects in airport strategic planning, infrastructure, operations, and analytics. Notable projects include: the 7th round of airport concessions in Brazil (pre-bid studies and PMO for the operation takeover of 11 airports); a greenfield airport infrastructure and air traffic procedures design in a site with challenging orography in a multi-airport system with congested airspace; master plan reviews to assist concessionaires in negotiating with the regulator for the exclusion of obligatory (by contract) but unnecessary (by demand) capex investments; and a strategic evaluation for a potential M&A operation in the air traffic sector. At Rio de Janeiro International Airport (GIG), serving as the Airport & Operations Planning Manager, he established a minimum contingent infrastructure in response to the drop in demand caused by COVID-19 and coordinated the reopening plan. On an institutional level, he collaborated with municipal, state, and federal authorities on projects to enhance access, air traffic management, and planning of Rio de Janeiro's multi-airport system. At São Paulo International Airport (GRU), he led the master plan review project and managed the strategic project’s portfolio, providing weekly reports to the CEO. He also led the implementation of operational simulation software and provided technical support for the configuration of the IT operations systems. He holds a degree in Civil-Aeronautical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), a specialization in Project Management from FAAP, and an MBA from FGV. His skills encompass advanced analytics, including simulation, optimization algorithms, data analysis, and machine learning, along with proficiency in GIS and BIM software.