Cathay Pacific Replaces Chief Executive

Cathay Pacific has appointed COO Rupert Hogg to replace Ivan Chu as chief executive of the airline from May 1.

Ivan Chu, who has been Cathay’s CEO since March 2014, steps down after the Hong Kong airline posted its first loss since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Chu will become chairman of Cathay’s parent company John Swire & Sons and remains a director of Cathay Pacific.

Rupert Hogg is currently chief operating officer at Cathay and has been with the Swire group since 1986. He takes over after the carrier made a net loss of HKD$575 million (USD$74 million) in 2016, from a HKD$6 billion profit the previous year.

Cathay at the time blamed “intense and increasing competition” as the biggest drag on performance, with mainland Chinese carriers launching more direct flights to international destinations.

In addition to the change of chief executive, Cathay appointed Paul Loo as chief customer and commercial officer, and Gregory Hughes as chief operations and service delivery officer, both from June 1.

Cathay said there will no longer be a chief operating officer position at the airline.