EVA Air Chairman Replaced After Board Meeting

EVA Airways' chairman Chang Kuo-wei has been replaced following an unscheduled board meeting on Friday.

The decision takes effect immediately, EVA said in a statement, without elaborating further.

Chang had been chairman since 2013. His father Chang Yung-fa, who founded the Evergreen Group, died in January and named Chang to succeed him as group chairman and as his sole heir, a source familiar with the situation said.

Chang's replacement comes after reports in the local media of a family feud over the founder's naming of Chang to succeed him.

"Before the founder passed away, he always wanted EVA run based on corporate governance. He did not say EVA had to be run by some particular person," said EVA spokesman Golden Kou.

The new chairman is company veteran Steve Lin. He served as EVA chairman from 2005-2011, said Kou.

EVA Airways has grown rapidly in the past few years. In 2015, the airline announced plans to buy 24 Boeing 787-10s and two 777-300ERs. That was in addition to 13 777-300ERs it already had on order.