TCS is proud to be a Silver Sponsor at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS) 2026, taking place from June 6–8 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The IATA AGM 2026 brings together airline leaders and industry experts representing organisations responsible for nearly 80% of global air traffic. The event offers a high-impact forum for leadership engagement and strategic industry dialogue.
At IATA AGM 2026, TCS will engage with global aviation leaders to share perspectives on building a more resilient, intelligent, and future-ready air transport ecosystem. Through strategic conversations and on-ground engagement, TCS will highlight how airlines and aviation stakeholders can respond to market volatility, rising customer expectations, and sustainability imperatives with agility and confidence.
TCS is the strategic partner of choice for leading organisations across the travel and logistics ecosystem, working closely with airlines, airports, cargo operators, and travel enterprises worldwide.
Rooted in engineering excellence and artificial intelligence (AI)-led innovation, TCS helps aviation organisations modernise their digital core, strengthen operational resilience, and reimagine end-to-end passenger and operational experiences.
By combining deep industry expertise with the ability to apply emerging technologies at scale, TCS supports travel and logistics enterprises in becoming adaptive and capable of navigating complexity, unlocking value from data, and driving long-term, sustainable growth.
At IATA AGM 2026, TCS will showcase how it partners with aviation organisations to enable transformation at scale, helping airlines enhance operational performance, strengthen decision-making, improve customer engagement, and build sustainable, future-ready enterprises. The focus will be on enabling aviation leaders to move from disruption response to long-term competitive advantage.
Our team of experts will be available to discuss your specific challenges and demonstrate how our technology-led approach can deliver a competitive advantage.
Venue: TCS Engagement Zone, L0, The Windsor Convention & Expo Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dates: June 6-8, 2026
We look forward to meeting you and collaborating to shape aviation that is green, agile, and powered by AI.
The IATA AGM 2026 brings together airline leaders and industry experts representing organisations responsible for nearly 80% of global air traffic. The event offers a high-impact forum for leadership engagement and strategic industry dialogue.
CTO, Travel and Logisics, Retail and CPG
Sridharan leads airline transformation initiatives at the convergence of business and technology, with a focus on airline retailing, customer experience, integrated airline operations, and software engineering. He believes the combined power of cloud, data, APIs, mobile, predictive analytics, and agentic AI is redefining the airline industry, enabling airlines to evolve into intelligent travel retailers. He advocates for a fit-for-purpose IT landscape powered by iterative innovation to unlock new revenue streams, deliver operational agility, and create seamless, personalised traveller experiences. Beyond work, Sridharan enjoys travelling and engaging with people from diverse cultures. These experiences continue to shape his global perspective on people-centric transformation.
Business Head, Travel and Logistics, EMEA & APAC
Arun Pradeep Surendra Mohan is the business head for Travel and Logistics—EMEA & APAC, TCS. With nearly three decades of experience, he specialises in building strategic partnerships and driving sustained business value for global customers. Since joining TCS in 1995, Arun has held a range of technical, delivery, and business leadership roles across industries, including banking, insurance, telecom, hi-tech, and utilities, working across APAC, the US, and Europe.
Head, Industry Advisory, Travel and Logistics, EMEA
Balaji Bashyam is the Head of Industry Advisory for Travel and Transportation, where he partners with global airline leaders across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to navigate the complex shift toward modern airline retailing. With over 20 years of experience in leading large-scale transformational programmes, Balaji is a recognised expert in helping organisations dismantle the barriers of legacy ecosystems to achieve truly connected operations. His work focuses on the pragmatic challenges of digital evolution, moving beyond industry buzzwords to address the underlying technology hurdles that often hinder progress. By combining deep domain expertise with a focus on practical execution, Balaji helps airlines craft actionable road maps that modernise core systems while delivering on the promise of hyper-personalised customer experiences and data-driven retail. An MBA alumnus of London Business School, Balaji is a prominent thought leader on travel ecosystems and digital intimacy. He is dedicated to helping travel providers transition from rigid legacy frameworks into agile, purpose-oriented digital businesses that can thrive in a rapidly changing global market.
CTO - Travel and Logistics, Americas
Akash Bhadani is the CTO for Travel, Transportation, and Hospitality—Americas Business Unit, TCS. He is a seasoned IT professional with 25 years of experience, with more than 12 years in travel, transportation, and hospitality sectors. He excels in solution consulting, innovation evangelism, and strategic transformation. As a key leader in the CTO organisation, Akash represents TCS in innovation forums, collaborating with startups and academia to explore cutting-edge technologies and ideas. His expertise spans software design, project and programme management, and business development across North America and Asia, consistently driving innovation and excellence for TTH customers.
Domain Head—Travel and Logistics, Americas
Varsha Makharia is the Domain Head for Travel, Transportation, and Hospitality-Americas Business Unit at TCS. She has over 27 years of IT services industry experience, 23 of which have been with TCS. She has fulfilled multiple roles across car rental, hospitality and logistics domains— from providing delivery excellence as account manager, to consulting engagements, pre-sales and sales. A master communicator and an industry influencer, Varsha's innate talent to connect with people has helped TCS expand their hospitality footprint and engage with marquee logos. The go-to person for in-depth industry know-how across domains, Varsha is regularly called upon to present at various TCS internal and external webinars and events; she frequently leads TCS teams on industry-led hackathons and innovation summits.
Director, Travel and Logistics Latin American, TCS
Alfonso Hincapié is a seasoned business and technology leader with expertise in the Latin American airline industry. He currently serves as sales lead for the airline sector at TCS Latin America, driving growth, strategic partnerships, and digital transformation initiatives. Prior to TCS, he led software applications for Microsoft’s Andean region, strengthening enterprise solutions across markets. He served as country manager for Neoris Colombia, building high-performing teams and expanding client portfolios. Earlier in his career, he spent several years at PwC in Bogotá. He is recognised as a senior airline industry expert.
Consulting Partner. Head of Travel
Amanda Davis leads strategy and customer transformation advisory for TCS, specialising in travel, transportation, and hospitality. With over 25 years of consulting experience across Big 4 and global technology organisations, she helps clients bridge the gap between transformation ambition and operational delivery. Amanda writes regularly for CustomerThink and focuses on persona-driven transformation approaches that ground technology decisions in operational reality.
The strategic partnership between TCS and the IATA represents a significant leap from industry participation to influential leadership. As a strategic partner, TCS is at the forefront of the Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) programme, driving the transition from legacy distribution models to a customer-centric ‘offer and order’ ecosystem.
Strategic significance
This collaboration grants TCS early access to emerging industry standards before public release, allowing for the proactive development of compliant, future-ready solutions. TCS is actively contributing to key industry pillars:
The engagement through exclusive webinars and global forums provides a high-impact platform to showcase AI-led innovations. This strategic ‘seat at the table’ ensures that TCS remains the partner of choice for airlines navigating the complexities of digital maturity and sustainable growth in 2026 and beyond.
In essence, TCS is not just adopting standards, it is shaping them!
TCS brings decades of aviation experience and a global delivery footprint to help airlines, alliances, and ground services organisations modernise customer experience and operations. Our long-term partnerships are anchored in shared values—trust, transparency, and measurable outcomes, backed by an AI-first approach to meet fast-changing industry demands.
Customer proof: SkyTeam | British Airways | Lufthansa | Air France-KLM | Jazeera Airways | Virgin Atlantic | Swissport | Etihad Airways | United Airlines
With responsible AI (governance, security, and human oversight) at the core, we help aviation organisations turn data into decisions- improving productivity, resolution speed, and customer outcomes at scale.
Explore TCS’s aviation solutions built to help airlines and airports respond to volatility, rising customer expectations, and sustainability imperatives by connecting systems, data, and decisions across the end-to-end journey.
All solutions are delivered with a responsible AI approach—supported by governance, security, and human oversight, to help aviation organisations turn data into decisions and outcomes at scale.