Air India has appointed Tewolde Gebremariam, the former head of Ethiopian Airlines, as its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He takes over from Campbell Wilson, who had announced his resignation in April and is due to step down in September.
What makes the appointment interesting is that Mr Gebremariam was, until recently, being lined up for a very different job, at Air India’s rival across the border. According to a Bloomberg report , Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had shortlisted him as its chief executive and was waiting to complete the required formalities before making the announcement.
Two days after Bloomberg published its report, Arab News reported that PIA had indeed selected Tewolde Gebremariam as its next CEO, citing two officials familiar with the matter. According to the report, the airline had delayed the announcement while awaiting mandatory security clearances. A major shareholder in PIA also reportedly confirmed the appointment, describing Gebremariam as a seasoned executive with a proven track record of leading successful turnarounds.
The reported PIA appointment had come soon after Pakistan completed the first phase of privatising the airline. Management control moved to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group, which reportedly injected fresh equity to support fleet expansion and route growth, as Arab News had reported.
That plan changed. Air India’s board announced on Wednesday that it had chosen Mr Gebremariam after a global search covering internal and external candidates, looking for someone with experience of large scale airline turnarounds, safety management and profitable growth. Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the airline had completed its initial phase of stabilisation and fleet commitments under Mr Wilson, and was now entering a phase focused on execution and expansion.
Mr Gebremariam spent more than 36 years at Ethiopian Airlines Group, rising to become its Group CEO in 2011 and staying in the role until 2022. Under him, Ethiopian Airlines grew into Africa’s largest and most profitable carrier, with revenue rising more than fourfold and its fleet nearly tripling. He also oversaw the airline joining the Star Alliance and helped build up its maintenance and training operations.
Air India, owned by the Tata Group, operates a fleet of around 185 aircraft and is pursuing an ambitious international expansion drive, while Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has a much smaller fleet of about 30 aircraft and is working to modernise and expand its operations.
