In 1999 , he joined Belgian airline Sabena as CEO . Following the September 11 attacks and the subsequent downturn in the airline industry , the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 . Mueller raised funds and founded Brussels Airlines , which started operations a day after the grounding of Sabena , where he remained Chairman until 2002 . He later served as the chief financial officer of DHL Worldwide where he was responsible for the successful turnaround programme which led to an improved bottom line of USD300 million within a year . In his expansive career in the aviation and logistic industry , Mueller was also the Executive Aviation Director at Tui Travel , a FTSE 100 company , where he restructured the entire lease portfolio and order book of seven airlines with a total fleet of 170 aircraft
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Christoph Mueller