Marta Martinez is a manager and a founding member at Hangar 51 Ventures, the startup accelerator of UK-based aviation group International Airlines Group, the parent company of multiple airlines including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level.
Glenn Morgan, head of digital transformation for International Airlines, said in his nomination of Martinez: “Marta has been a key driver in the success of Hangar 51 Ventures, nurturing startups and finding mutual benefit to drive strategic growth. Using her background in strategic planning, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions and global transformation programs, she has worked as part of a team to place International Airlines at the forefront of industry innovation.”
Martinez is also part of the team that led the creation and scaling of the corporate venturing arm over the past three years. She said: “Hangar 51 is now in its third year with more than 1,000 applications worldwide and has provided investments in industry-changing technologies.”
In 2018, 10 finalists were selected to join the accelerator program, including US-based tailored flight search application developer 30K, Switzerland-based airport ramp video footage feed provider Assaia and Israel-based in-flight medical monitoring device supplier Biobeat.
Martinez is a board observer at US-based post-booking optimisation tool provider Volantio, one of Hangar 51’s portfolio companies.
She added: “Among other investors, we have closed a $60m series B round in Monese, a London and Tallinn-based company, which provides a mobile-only current account. The round, led by Kinnevik with co-investors including PayPal, is an exciting opportunity for International Airlines via its loyalty scheme Avios.”
