The Airforwarders Association has appointed Steve Smith, founder and former chief executive of humanitarian logistics nonprofit Airlink, as its executive director. He replaces Brandon Fried, who retires in December after 21 years leading the trade group.

The Washington-based association represents freight forwarders and logistics companies that manage cargo moving on airlines, advocating for them before Congress, federal agencies and industry partners. Its lobbying portfolio covers air cargo security, airport infrastructure and trade facilitation — files that have grown heavier as tariff regimes shift and U.S. gateway capacity comes under strain.

Smith built his operational credentials at Airlink, which he founded in early 2013 as a one-person startup. He grew it into a near-$20 million-a-year organization that matches humanitarian groups with airlines to move relief supplies into disaster zones. Before Airlink, no such logistics matchmaking entity existed for coordinating crisis response with the aviation sector. Smith left the organization in September 2025.

The numbers from his tenure are substantial. Under Smith, Airlink worked with more than 50 airlines and logistics companies and 250 humanitarian organizations across 100 countries. It responded to more than 200 disasters and crises and helped over 80 million people in need.

He directed the organization's response to several of the decade's largest disruptions: the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ebola outbreak and the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. He has also served as a subject matter expert to NATO on building resilience through public-private cooperation.

Airlink's most recent operation illustrates the model Smith will bring to the AfA. The organization coordinated a series of cargo flights from Miami to Venezuela, donated by Amazon Air, to rush medical supplies and other essentials to victims of the June earthquakes. That kind of carrier-level coordination — matching capacity with need — mirrors the relationship management a trade association chief must exercise with airlines, forwarders and regulators.

Smith's commercial background predates the humanitarian work. He spent four years as director of civil aerospace at engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, where he negotiated large commercial deals. He serves on the board of InterAction, the largest U.S. alliance of international NGOs, is a board trustee of the Aero Club of Washington, sits on the advisory board of crisis management firm GoCrisis, and is a member of the Air Transport World Hall of Fame.

For forwarders, the leadership change matters because the AfA punches on policy issues that directly affect their cost base and operating procedures: security rules, airport infrastructure investment and customs facilitation. A director with deep airline relationships and crisis-time operational experience could sharpen the association's voice on capacity recovery and resilience funding.

Fried endorsed his successor in blunt terms. "Steve brings extensive aviation and logistics experience, a strong understanding of air cargo, and established relationships across all areas of the industry," he said. "He understands the issues affecting the industry and the importance of engaging members, and I am confident he is well-placed to lead the AfA and build on the work we have done over the past two decades."

Fried announced in February that he would retire at the end of the year. He will stay on through a transition period to help Smith settle into the role while the AfA continues its advocacy work.

Smith framed his mandate around the pressures currently squeezing airfreight intermediaries. "The work of the AfA has rarely been more important, with shifting trade policy, geopolitical disruption, and aging infrastructure adding pressure on supply chains that are already stretched," he said in the announcement. "Forwarders need greater predictability as they navigate these pressures, and investment in the infrastructure that keeps it moving. I look forward to working alongside the AfA team, meeting more members, and ensuring forwarders continue to have an effective voice in Washington and across an industry that sits at the center of billions of dollars in global trade every day."

Smith takes over at a moment when forwarders face overlapping headwinds — tariff volatility, constrained gateway infrastructure and renewed security mandates — and the association's agenda on those fronts will define his first year.