Cathay Pacific Airlines will have a new CEO starts from May 1 20017
Rupert Hogg Cathay Pacific operations chief was announced as the new CEO after Ivan Chu will step down on May 1 officially, press release said.
The announcement of senior management changes in the group released on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of Cathay staff gathered at the airline’s Cathay City headquarters for a sudden town hall meeting. The leadership reshuffle was announced at the meeting after the stock market closed at 4:30pm.
As a new appointed CEO, Rupert will lead the airline through its three-year corporate transformation programme with the aim of becoming more agile and competitive in the challenging market place.
The Chairman of parent company Swire Pacific John Slosar said, he was optimistic that the changes in play would build on the foundations laid by the current management and help take the airline to “new heights.
Rupert brings an impressive level of aviation and business experience to the job. “He brings commercial focus and a spirit of innovation to our efforts to overcome the well-documented structural challenges facing the airline. He is the right man to lead our team.” Slosar said.
Ivan Chu, currently Chief Executive Officer of Cathay Pacific will step down as CEO of Cathay Pacific and Chairman of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited but will remain on the boards of Cathay Pacific as a Non-executive Director and Swire Pacific.
Chu, will be appointed Chairman of John Swire & Sons in China from 1st May 2017. He will play a leading role in the Swire group’s overall Mainland China investment and development strategy,
Cathay Pacific Airlines, hit by budget airlines competition
Hogg, sent a note to staff last night promising to “return Cathay to its winning ways”, but cautioned that “tough times call for tough action”, according to report.
“We are on a journey to build a new organisation – one that is competitive, confident, bold and strong, one that will help return us to profitable growth again,” he added.
Hong Kong-based carrier controlled by the Swire conglomerate faces some difficult and challenging times’ according to Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar.
The Cathay Pacific Airlines company last year reported a loss of HK$575 million (US$74 million), and has been struggling as a premium airline in the face of stiff competition.
The airline was founded on 24 September 1946 by Australian Sydney H. de Kantzow and American Roy C. Farrell, with each man putting up HK$1 to register the airline. The airline made the world’s first non-stop transpolar flight flying over the North Pole in July 1998, which was also the maiden flight to arrive at the then new Hong Kong International Airport.
IMAGE: Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar (left) says the Hong Kong-based carrier faces ‘some difficult and challenging times’ as chief operating officer Rupert Hogg (right) was appointed the new CEO. Paul Yeung