Kenya Airways has appointed former LOT Polish Airlines head Sebastian Mikosz as Group MD & CEO, effective June 1. Mikosz replaces incumbent Mbuvi Ngunze, whose departure was announced in November 2016.
Ngunze stayed on while the company searched for a successor and continued to steer what the airline described as “the complex capital optimization program” to try to reduce heavy losses.
Kenya Airways’ chairman Michael Joseph noted Mikosz had twice held the role of president and CEO at LOT, during which he was involved in “an in-depth turnaround of the company leading to it first positive results in many years.”
Kenya Airways has experienced heavy losses in the past two years.
Mikosz will be responsible for resurrecting the fortunes of the African carrier.
Joseph and the board of directors had warm words for outgoing CEO Ngunze. “Mbuvi has led KQ during an extremely challenging period … ensuring that the airline stayed afloat, leading from the front in negotiations with financiers and critical partners, and launching the turnaround, which has achieved key milestones and whose results we are now seeing. Mbuvi will stay on beyond June as advisor to the company until the capital optimization plan is completed, which we expect will be done by end of July at the latest,” he said.
sources:ATW
