Tata Sons announced it has appointed Ilker Ayci, who was until recently the chairman of Turkish Airlines, as CEO & MD of Air India, according to moneycontrol report.
The Air India board met to consider the candidature of Ayci and N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, was a special invitee to this board meeting, said a statement by Tata Sons. The board after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci, it said.
Fifty-one-year old Ayci is a 1994 alumni of Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration. After a research stay on political science at the Leeds University in the UK in 1995, he completed an International Relations Master’s programme at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.
Ayci is also on the board of the Turkish Football Federation, Turkish Airlines Sports Club and TFF Sportif Anonim Sirketi and Member of The Canadian Turkish Business Council and a Member of the US-Turkey Business Council, according to The Wall Street Journal. He will be assuming his responsibilities as CEO and MD on or before April 1, 2022.
N Chandrasekaran, commenting on Ayci’s appointment, said that he believes Air India will be led into a new era under the leadership of Ayci.
“Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there. We are delighted to welcome Ilker to the Tata Group where he would lead Air India into the new era,” he said.
Ilker Ayci on his appointment said, “I am delighted and honored to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata Group. Working closely with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata Group, we will utilize the strong heritage of Air India to make it one of the best airlines in the world with a uniquely superior flying experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality”.
Ayci who was named Turkish Airlines chairman in April 2015 resigned from the position in January end.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.