Air India last month issued a press release about the desire of its CEO, Campbell Wilson, to step down, a desire he had apparently first expressed to Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran in 2024. The industry had heard murmurs of Wilson’s desire to leave over the past year, but nothing was ever confirmed.
Campbell Wilson’s Legacy and The CEO Quandary
Willson leaves behind him a legacy of goodwill and tremendous change and restructuring at Air India. I have seen Air India very closely, as part of its system, since 1985 and even under Wilson himself. His legacy is deserving of a separate article, given the kind of change he brought about.
Critics would say that his change was negative and hurt Air India; many might say it was a positive change, but the fact is that he strived to bring change to the status quo, thereby having already done the heavy lifting for whoever his successor may be.
The CEO quandary has vexed the Tatas since they bought the Airline, and it would not be an exaggeration to say it has given the Tata board sleepless nights. It began with a German and an American selection who were not available, then a Turkish selection, who was rejected by some quarters, then finally Campbell Wilson, who, as it turns out, wanted out. We will deal with the why, some other time, let’s now dwell on the successors.
A Look at The Contenders
The Media has been abuzz with speculation that the race is between Vinod Kannan a Sr.VP at Singapore Airlines (and a former Vistara CEO) and Nipun Aggarwal, an Air India insider, who is currently the CCO of Air India, and Chairman of Air India Express.
Those news leaks, we assume, are dipstick tests to check the temperature and overall acceptability of the names. There was also a mention of two undisclosed expats in contention for the position.
We look at the two named contenders first, then analyse other top names in the aviation industry, and ask whether the Tatas should also consider others.
Vinod Kannan, a Singapore Airlines Sr. VP, is no stranger to Air India and the Tatas, having been CEO of Vistara and having scaled it into a world-class premium airline.
His strong Singapore Airlines DNA and past experience with India and Air India during the merger and integration phase make him a strong candidate for the Air India CEO role.
Whether he can tackle Indian bureaucratic issues is an open question, since at Vistara, he did not face as much heat as Air India has in recent times.
Nipun Aggarwal, currently CCO of Air India and Chairman of Air India Express, is a former banker who has been pivotal in the Air India order of 470 aircraft. A non-nonsense executive, he has been key to Air India’s network planning and future direction.
What is a lesser known fact is that Aggarwal was also part of the core Tata Sons team, which was the transition management team which studied Air India as a PSU, since April of 2021 as part of TBG, and through the discussions with government of India, and had arrayed a group of consultants like EY, Alvarez & Marsal, RBSA Advisors, AZB & Partners, Deloitte, Mercer and many others and had mapped every agreement, every employee, literally every computer station in the PSU Air India, in the run-up to the buyout.
Notable Aviation Leaders
The rumour mills have suggested that two expat names are also under consideration. Some sources have hinted that Ted Cruz and Alan Joyce may be under consideration, though we could not confirm whether they were part of the mix. Both gentlemen are strong, proven aviation leaders, and we take a look at their careers here.
Alan Joyce began his career at Aer Lingus, eventually retired as the CEO of Qantas and saved it from bankruptcy, turning Qantas into one of the world’s most profitable airlines.
He was widely criticised for cost-cutting, mass layoffs, outsourcing, and even grounding the fleet in 2011 due to industrial trouble. He turned around Jetstar, making it a highly profitable airline, and completed Qantas’ fleet modernisation.
Alan is a fierce advocate for equality and same-sex marriage in Australia and has strong overall credentials for the position of Air India CEO.
Alex Cruz, a Spanish aviation executive and former Chairman and CEO of British Airways, is no stranger to the Tatas. Headhunters reportedly approached him in late 2021/2022 for the position of Air India CEO, but, for reasons of availability, neither party could proceed.
Alex started at American Airlines and then founded ClickAir, a Spanish LCC and later merged with Vueling, where he became CEO. Alex led BA as Chairman and CEO, through modernisation, digitalisation, and cost-cutting programs.
Though he had a tough time with the Pilots, he was successful overall. He stepped down when Sean Doyle was appointed as CEO. Alex Cruz is a highly respected, capable and experienced leader at LCC & FSC models.
Another name the Tatas should consider is Michael Rousseau, the outgoing CEO of Air Canada, who resigned amid political criticism over his failure to deliver a French condolence message after the recent LaGuardia crash.
Michael Rousseau’s career is one of the most successful stories of the last 15 years. He came to Air Canada as CFO when their pension fund was in a $3.6 billion shortfall, and turned the airline around to almost $2.5 billion in profits before Covid.
Michael was elevated to the Chair of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board in 2024 and is a member of the IATA Board of Governors, reflecting his global influence in aviation.
Other names we thought, who could be looked at are Christoph Mueller, Tony Douglas and Carsten Spohr.
The Storied Tatas
The Tatas are a storied organisation going back more than a century, with a very strong ethos, and are very much a cadre-backed corporate, with everyone maintaining rank. Whether one likes it or not, Air India is a special baby of the Tata group and is driven by Bombay House, which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing. The proximity of the Tata insiders to the top Corporate leadership places them at a major advantage; however, if the Tatas are to succeed at turning Air India around, a strong, experienced global hand is essential to guide the ship. They are, after all, still not yet domain experts.
It is my considered opinion that the Tatas should explore splitting the post of Managing Director and CEO between two persons, and opt for an expat as Managing Director and have an Indian / insider CEO, that way, the Tatas still have the global appeal of expat leadership, and the inside (Indian) person on the job.
What Does Air India Need
Air India is in take-off mode and will be inducting more than a hundred aircraft in the next twelve to eighteen months. It will also move toward an IPO or a private placement of its shares within the next twenty-four to thirty-six months, and an Indian CEO is essential to navigate many of the hoops and loops with SEBI and other government compliance requirements.
Whilst Kannan’s position as an SIA man will be invaluable, Aggarwal’s position as a close ally of the Tata Sons Chairman and as the quintessential Tata man will stand him in good stead, as will his proven ability to execute large deals to drive Air India’s turnaround. Thus, the most likely name of all of these appears to be Nipun Aggarwal, given his proximity and his stellar record with the Aircraft order and at Air India Express as its Chairman.
Ideally, if it were my choice, it would be Michael or Alex (sadly, Tony is the CEO of Riyadh) as Managing Director, and Nipun Aggarwal as CEO, for the next five years. The combination of finance and network operations will be unbeatable and will help Air India attain the take-off trajectory that it has so badly been looking for.
* Sanjay Lazar is an Aviation expert and CEO Avialaz consultants. He is @sjlazars on @x. Views and Opinions are purely personal.
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