ASPAC appointment highlights of the month – May 2019

The travel, tourism and aviation industries in the Asia Pacific region witness policy and upper level changes on a daily basis. It is important to not only keep tabs of these organisations direction, but to also monitor changes in executive branches to see the wider picture of the travel market. The Blue Swan Daily will keep you informed of these movements each month, with a full wrap of the key changes in the Asia Pacific market, while also looking forward to key appointments announced for the last month.

Here are the key executive changes for May 2019;

• Jet Airways announced CEO Vinay Dube, CFO and deputy CEO Amit Agarwal and secretary and compliance officer Kuldeep Sharma all resigned their positions, effective 13/14-May-2019;
• Cathay Pacific appointed Robert Aaron Milton as independent non-executive director, effective on 15-May-2019. Mr Milton is lead independent director at Air Lease Corporation, and served as CEO of Air Canada between Aug-1999 and Dec-2004;
• Blue Dart Express' board appointed Balfour Manuel as MD for a term of three years on 16-May-2019, subject to approval at the company's AGM;
• Pakistan International Airlines appointed Khalilullah Sheikh as CFO. Mr Sheikh replaces interim CFO Asad Abbas in the role;
• Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) appointed Akihiro Tamura as Narita International Airport Corporation president and representative director, effective 25-Jun-2019;
• Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) appointed Mikiya Chiyo as New Kansai International Airport Co Ltd president and representative director, effective 26-Jun-2019;
• Air Premia appointed Kim Se-young as CEO, pending approval at a shareholders meeting to be held in mid Jun-2019;
• Kansai Airports appointed Benoit Rulleau as co-CEO and representative director, effective 30-Jun-2019;
• IATA announced Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr assumed his duties as chairman of the IATA board of governors (BoG) for a one year term, effective from the conclusion of the 75th IATA AGM;
• SkyTeam appointed Korean Air chairman and CEO Walter Cho as chairman of the alliance;
• Solaseed Air announced the appointment of Takaya Fukui as deputy GM and deputy GM of corporate planning on 01-Jun-2019;
• Yeti Airlines appointed Chandra Sherpa as MD. Ms Sherpa replaces her late husband Ang Tshiring Sherpa in the role. The airline also appointed Norbu Tshiring Sherpa as deputy MD.