The Wings Club Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce that Sir Timothy (Tim) Clark, KBE, President, Emirates Airline will be the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award. Acknowledging Mr. Clark’s outstanding accomplishments in the field of aviation, The Wings Club Foundation will present this award on Oct. 17, 2025, at the 83rd Annual Awards Gala to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York.
Mr. Clark has been in the civil aviation business for his entire professional career, having joined British Caledonian in 1972.
In 1975, he moved to Gulf Air in Bahrain and subsequently in 1985 to Dubai where he became a member of the founding team of Emirates as Head of Airline Planning.
In 2003, he became President of Emirates Airline, driving the company’s continued rapid growth into the world’s largest international airline serving over 140 cities on six continents. During his tenure, Mr. Clark has successfully steered Emirates through multiple ups and downs in the aviation industry, including a remarkable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic into record profitability.
Between April 1998 and March 2008, Mr. Clark was also the Managing Director of Sri Lankan Airlines, the latter position resulted from Emirates' acquisition in April 1998 of a major stake in the airline with full management control.
Mr. Clark is Chairman of the Emirates Airline Foundation, which he was instrumental in founding. The Foundation strives to improve the welfare of disadvantaged children of the world. He was appointed an Independent Non-Executive Director at DP World in June 2022; and appointed to The Dubai International Chamber Board of Directors in February 2025.
In the 2014 Queen’s New Year’s Honours list, Mr. Clark was invested as a Knight of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for services to British prosperity and to the aviation industry. In November 2009, he was conferred an “Officier de la Legion d’Honneur” by the French government for services to transport and aviation.
Mr. Clark holds a degree in Economics from London University and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He also holds honorary doctorate degrees from the Universities of Warwick, Middlesex and Northumbria in the United Kingdom.
The Wings Club Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Its mission is to focus on initiatives aimed at supporting scholarships for students who will pursue a career in aviation or aerospace, providing programs to educate in the field of aviation, and supporting charitable organizations that use aviation to help those in need. The Wings Club Foundation comprises more than 1,200 members including industry leaders, pilots, professionals in related service organizations, and students of aviation.
Recognizing significant achievements that contribute to the advancement of aviation and aeronautics, The Wings Club Foundation presents not only the Distinguished Achievement Award, but also the Outstanding Aviator Award and the Distinguished Scholar Awards. For more information on The Wings Club Foundation, visit www.wingsclub.org. Follow us on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook