Air India announced major changes to the job roles of top executives of Air India and Vistara in preparation for the merger of both airlines scheduled to take place early next week.
Vinod Kannan who was also the chief integration officer of the full service airlines merger and the CEO of Vistara, as per the official announcement, will continue to hold the latter position post-merger. He will report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and be a part of the Management Committee.
Deepak Rajawat is the new chief financial officer at Air India Express. Aloke Singh will be reporting to him. He will also provide support to Group CFO Sanjay Sharma on strategic initiatives and project. Vikas Aggarwal, currently the CFO of Air India Express will move to another role at Air India.
Capt. Hamish Maxwell has been appointed as a consultant to Aloke Singh, CEO of Air India Express, by Vistara’s SVP Flight Operations. Pushpinder Sing, the chief operations officer for Air India Express returns to flying. A successor for Capt. A successor for Capt.
“The group wants to complete the merger as quickly as possible because it will unlock synergies, and provide multiple benefits for running more efficient operations. There are no buts or ifs.
“Both Singapore Airlines, and Tata Sons, want to complete the merge soon,”
said one of those who are aware of the development.
Deepa Chadha and Vinod Bhatt, SVP HR & corporate affairs and chief information officer of Vistara respectively, will take on senior roles at other Tata group companies, while Vistara CFO Niyant Maru, who had graciously continued beyond his superannuation date to see through completion of the merger, will retire at the end of his current term. All other Air India Group CXO and reporting line roles remain unchanged.
Announcing these transitions, Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, said:
“Over the past two years the four Tata airlines have worked hard to prepare for and execute one of the most complex mergers in aviation history, consolidating from four airlines to two in the context of dramatic growth and wholesale transformation. We are pleased to announce that as we approach the end, a Group Leadership will be formed consisting of colleagues from the four antecedent airlines. This leadership will drive the next phase in our journey.”
