Air India Announces Management Changes Before Merger With Vistara

                   
Ahead of the Air India and Vistara merger scheduled on November 12, the Air India Group on Friday announced a number of management changes.

Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer of Vistara who has also been holding the role of Chief Integration Officer for the full-service airlines' merger, will continue in the latter role post-merger. He will be a member of the Management Committee and report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.

Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer of Vistara, will take up the Chief Financial Officer role at newly-enlarged Air India Express, reporting to CEO Aloke Singh. He will also support Group CFO Sanjay Sharma in strategic initiatives and projects. Consequently, Vikas Agarwal, the current CFO of Air India Express, will move to a new role in Air India.

Capt. Hamish Maxwell, SVP Flight Operations of Vistara, has assumed an advisory role to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, while Capt. Pushpinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Air India Express, returns to flying. A successor for Capt. Singh will be announced in due course.

Deepa Chadha and Vinod Bhatt, SVP HR and 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 roles and reporting lines roles remain unchanged.

Announcing these transitions, Campbell Wilson, CEO and 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. As we now approach the end of that process, we are delighted to formalise a Group leadership comprising colleagues from all four antecedent airlines to drive the next phase of our journey."
"I would also like to acknowledge those who, whether retiring or taking up other roles within the Tata group, have contributed so significantly not just to the consolidation process but, over many years, to the DNA of what is now the new Air India." (ANI)