Changes at the top for Air France

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has stepped down as CEO of Air France KLM Group and CEO of Air France (AF) following a board meeting in Paris last week.  He had been in charge since January 2009.  Former AF Chairman and CEO, Jean Cyril Spinetta, now 70, and past KLM President and CEO, Leo Van Wijk, were reappointed as Chairman and CEO of AF KLM Group and Group Deputy CEO, respectively.  They will be in charge of its “strategic coordination,” AF said.  The two men masterminded Europe’s first merger between two flag carriers in 2004.

Alexandre de Juniac, who previously was Chief of Staff to the former French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, until her recent appointment to run the International Monetary Fund, replaces Gourgeon as AF Chairman and CEO.  Before her government appointment she was at Thales.

The management reshuffle reflects board and analyst concerns over the poor financial performance of the group – particularly AF – since Gourgeon took over.  He has had to contend with a number of problems including the fatal AF A330 flight 447 crash over the Atlantic in June 2009, high fuel prices, strikes and disruptions.

Interestingly the company noted that the full merger of AF had been put back from early 2012 to 2013. www.airfrance.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum