Jet Airways acting CEO Gopalakrishnan quits airline

During his 18-month stint he was closely involved in negotiations with Etihad and financial revival of the airline

Jet Airways’ chief financial officer (CFO) and acting chief executive officer (CEO) Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan has quit the airline after a year-and-a-half stint, which saw Etihad’s $379 million investment and record quarterly losses.

The reason behind Gopalakrishnan’s decision to leave Jet Airways is not known. The airline did not respond to an email query on the issue. Gopalakrishnan too did not respond to a text message seeking comment.

Gopalakrishnan, a chartered accountant, took up the post of CFO in the airline in October 2012 and was closely involved in negotiations with Etihad and financial revival of the airline. Prior to joining Jet Airways, he was associated with TVS Capital Funds, where he was the executive director & CFO.

He took charge as the acting CEO of Jet after Gary Toomey, an Australian national, left the airline in January, barely six months after joining the airline.

“There has not been a full-time CEO in the real sense after Nikos Kardassis left last May. Toomey’s contract allowed him to work out of Australia and he spent half the time there,” an airline insider remarked.

Gopalakrishnan’s resignation would create a vacuum in senior management as the airline would be without a full time CEO and CFO, an aviation source said.

Crammer Ball, a former CEO of Air Seychelles and a former regional manager of Etihad, is expected to join Jet Airways as CEO, but the appointment is yet to be finalised.

There have been several high profile exits from Jet Airways after Etihad acquired 24 per cent stake in the airline. This includes CEO Nikos Kardassis, vice-president (investor relations) K G Vishwanath and chief commercial officer Sudheer Raghavan.

In other changes, Naresh Goyal’s wife, Anita, was re-designated advisor to the chief executive and group executive officer Abdulrahman Albusaidy, responsible for Gulf markets, was appointed chief strategic planning officer and given wider powers. Anita Goyal might also join the airline’s board, which would be re-constituted. The board has two members from Etihad — chief executive James Hogan and CFO James Rigney.