Aditya Ghosh Decides to Move on After Almost a Decade in IndiGo Cockpit

Sector watchers said the development was not a surprise as IndiGo is planning for the takeoff of its next phase of growth

After almost a decade in the cockpit of IndiGo, President Aditya Ghosh has decided to move on. In a statement on Friday, the largest airline of the country said he would step down on July 31.
Gregory Taylor, who had earlier led the revenue management team, will take over as president and chief executive officer (CEO), after regulatory and security clearance. Rahul Bhatia, promoter of IndiGo, will be interim CEO.

In a letter to employees, Ghosh said he would start his own venture, but did not elaborate. He said after 10 years, it was time “to step off the treadmill” and embark on his “next adventure”. He quits at a time when the airline has plans to expand in international skies.

Bhatia said, “We are delighted at Greg’s decision to rejoin the IndiGo team and welcome him back. His enormous and varied experience and understanding of the complexities of the industry will be invaluable for our plans. At the same time, we thank Aditya for all his hard work and contributions and for the successes the company has enjoyed.”

Sector watchers said the development was not a surprise. IndiGo is planning for the takeoff of its next phase of growth. Besides growing in size, the airline is looking at an overhaul of strategy. It has moved away from having a single aircraft variety and is looking at wide-body aircraft for long-haul operations.

Turbulence from its exponential growth was evident, as IndiGo faced quite a few operational and public relations crises in recent times. Continuing problems with the Pratt & Whitney engines that power IndiGo’s A320 neo aircraft grounded 11 planes recently. Late last year, there was a public relations crisis after two of its employees manhandled a customer on the tarmac.

Since early 2017, the airline has been strengthening its management team. A number of expatriate executives who have experience in large airlines of developed markets have come on board. IndiGo’s core operations revenue management, network planning and airport services are all headed by foreign staff handpicked by co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal, who had worked in management roles at United and US Airways. Greg Taylor had worked with Gangwal at both these airlines.

IndiGo has also created many new leadership positions. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer former CEO of GoAir, has joined IndiGo as chief operating officer. He has experience of working in European airlines. Willy Boulter joined as chief strategy officer last week. Boulter has experience of working in Etihad, Virgin Atlantic, and Cathay Pacific. Michael Swiatek has recently joined as chief planning officer and is responsible for network planning. “Prock-Schauer will be responsible for operational aspects such as flight operations, engineering, maintenance and Willy will look after strategy functions such as revenue management, international sales, marketing. IndiGo has outlined its future management structure,” a person aware of the developments said.


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In the mid-senior roles, Cindy Szadokierski, who has around 17 years of experience in different roles at United, was appointed as vice-president, airport operations. Former Air Asia executive Jason Herter looks after the operations control and dispatch department. Before joining IndiGo, Herter was responsible for handling crew management, including scheduling, rosters and training, for all five airlines of the AirAsia group.

During its initial years, IndiGo had hired expats such as Bruce Ashby and Steve Harfst as CEO and COO, respectively.

Experts say lack of skilled professionals in the Indian aviation sector has forced IndiGo to look for personnel in mature markets.

“IndiGo’s growth aspirations have painted themselves into a corner where they are trying to find professionals that can help the airline fly into the next level. Today, the number of quality world-class professionals in India is a handful. IndiGo’s step proves that India’s airline management skills remain far below the world benchmark,” an executive of a rival carrier said.

Among Indian airlines, Jet Airways has numerous foreigners at crucial roles. Low cost carrier Air Deccan in its heydays had hired executives from European airline Ryanair.
Reference -  http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/aditya-ghosh-decides-to-move-on-after-almost-a-decade-in-indigo-cockpit-118042800072_1.html