ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2020 - 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Stepping Up

F

irst, I hope you, your
families and your
colleagues are healthy,
safe and well. I had
the pleasure of seeing
over 2,000 of you at
ISTAT Americas in
Austin in March. It was our first time in
Texas, and I think the city of Austin did
us proud.
The cloud hanging above all of us
right now is COVID-19, but before I
delve into that topic, I want to address
another social pandemic that has
unfortunately raised its head again
recently. The "I" in ISTAT refers to
"international," but it could also refer
to "inclusion." We work in an industry
that, by its very nature, covers the
globe. We work and speak with people
from every color, creed, race, gender
and sexual orientation that our planet
has to offer. Racism has no place in
our industry, society or ISTAT. We
must stand up in solidarity with those

It's in dark times like these that humanity needs to
step up and be counted. At times of significant distress,
leaders need to diffuse the situation and place some
order into this somewhat anarchical and scary world.
who are subjected to prejudice and
fear. What we have seen in the United
States is something that we should not
tolerate. Racism, in any form, is wrong.
It is something that we should not and
cannot tolerate in our society. Some of
you, through your success in business,
have been afforded a platform where
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people will take heed and listen. I
would encourage all our members to
speak out against racism and help us
work toward a more inclusive society.
Last year, ISTAT set up a Diversity &
Inclusion Committee, which is chaired
by Marilyn Gan. I look forward to
working with this committee to strive
to make our society a more diverse and
inclusive one to work in.
We have all had to adjust our lives
dramatically over the past few months.
Our jobs typically revolve around trying
to disseminate everything into a number
such as IRR, OTP, ROE, etc. However,
the numbers we are measuring every
day are those of illness and death.
COVID-19 has brought terms such as
PPE, cocooning and clusters into our
daily thoughts. Sadly, behind these
numbers are faces. People have lost
mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
sons, daughters and friends in this
period. I have been deeply saddened to
learn of some ISTAT friends losing loved
ones to COVID-19. Unfortunately, while
the world battles through this health
war, there will likely be more heartache
to come.
However, we have seen amazing
acts of bravery from health care
workers fighting against this invisible
enemy. While there is an old saying
that not all heroes wear capes, in
2020, they wear blue protective gowns
and work in the health care sector.
I look forward to the day when we
can say thank you in person to these
amazing individuals.
The traveling public is the fuel
that drives our industry, and we have
seen that dry up. Commercial aviation
has come to a standstill, and many
businesses and livelihoods have
ISTAT Jetrader - Summer 2020

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