Asia Cargo News is deeply saddened to report the untimely passing of Mark Whitehead, the former chief executive of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited.

According to Hactl, Whitehead passed away in his sleep while competing in the Rolex China Sea Race, a 565-nautical-mile yacht race from Hong Kong to Subic Bay in the Philippines.

Whitehead joined Hactl in 2010 and retired on March 7, 2018, staying with the company as an advisor. He was a keen sailor and had been a member of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for almost 35 years.

Whitehead joined Jardine Matheson, Hactl’s parent company, in 1987 as an in-house legal counsel and subsequently worked for Jardine Transport Services Group. He was the Jardine Matheson Group’s senior representative for Indo-China from 1996 to 1999, and was then appointed managing director of Schindler Lifts Hong Kong, after which he worked at Hongkong Land as an executive director.

He led Hactl to become the largest freighter ramp handler at the busiest cargo airport in the world, and was recently named by The Hong Kong Institute of Directors as one of its Directors Of The Year.

We extend our sincere condolences to his wife and two children, as well as to everyone at Hactl.