Etihad Names CEO Hogan’s Interim Replacement

May 8, 2017

Etihad on Monday confirmed that chief executive James Hogan will leave the airline on July 1 and announced a temporary replacement.

Ray Gammell, Etihad’s Chief People & Performance Officer, has been appointed as interim CEO with immediate effect. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said Gammell has already assumed full management responsibilities.

In addition to the CEO changeover, chief financial officer James Rigney will also leave on July 1, handing the baton to Group Treasurer Ricky Thirion, again on an interim basis.

Gammell has been at Etihad since 2009, Thirion since 2007.

“Ray will now take full management responsibility for the Etihad Aviation Group, ensure a coordinated group approach, and continue to advance the strategic review that was initiated by the Board in 2016 to reposition the business for continued development in what we anticipate being a prolonged period of challenges for global aviation,” Etihad group chairman Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei said.

“We have strengthened our group leadership with recent appointments and are now in the advanced stages of recruitment for a new Group CEO.”

The airline expects to announce a permanent replacement for Hogan in the next few weeks.

Hogan was appointed chief executive in 2006 and has led the company through a period of sustained growth. Recent acquisitions have been less successful, with 49 percent-owned Alitalia going into administration last week and Air Berlin restructuring and downsizing to tackle its high debt.

Etihad announced in January that Hogan and Rigney would be stepping down in the second half of the year.

(Airwise)