Isela Angélica Costantini, born in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 12, 1971, is a Brazilian-Argentine social and business communicator known for presiding over Aerolíneas Argentinas from January to December 2016.
Who is Isela Costantini?
Although born in Brazil, Isela Costantini is the daughter of Argentine parents from San Juan and spent most of her youth in Argentina. She earned a degree in Social Communication from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, in Curitiba, Brazil. Afterwards, she obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago, in the United States, with a specialization in Marketing and International Business.
General Motors
Costantini began her career at General Motors Brazil in 1998, in the marketing and sales department where she held various roles and responsibilities, including strategic marketing, sales forecasting, and brand management.
In 2013, she was ranked 37th among the 50 most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine and also led the Association of Automotive Manufacturers (ADEFA). She was named CEO of the Year in November 2015.
Aerolíneas Argentinas
She was appointed president of Aerolíneas Argentinas during Mauricio Macri’s presidency of Argentina, replacing Mariano Recalde, and assumed the role starting in January 2016.
Costantini authorized the debt forgiveness of MacAir Jet on October 26, 2016, a debt owed to the state-owned company amounting to nearly half a million pesos. At that time, the airline was owned by the Macri Group. On June 23, 2017, Judge Torres ordered a raid on Aerolíneas Argentinas and MacAir to investigate potential crimes related to the forgiveness of the debt for hangar use that the Macri Group’s company owed to Aerolíneas Argentinas.