By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR (AA) – Embattled Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has appointed Irish national Peter Bellew as its new managing director and group chief executive effective Friday, after current chief Christoph Mueller fast-tracked his resignation from Sept. 9.
In a statement Thursday, Malaysia’s national flag carrier said Bellew’s appointment follows a comprehensive search for a new CEO conducted by state wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad and the MAB Board of Directors.
“The process, which commenced in April 2016, involved internal and external as well as local and foreign candidates,” said MAB, of which Khazanah is the sole stakeholder.
Mueller had been hired in early 2015 as the CEO of Malaysian Airline System Berhad, which has since been replaced by MAB, as part of a restructuring program after the carrier suffered two major tragedies in 2014.
Flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014, and flight MH17 was shot down in eastern Ukraine while carrying 298 people July 17, 2014.
Before Bellew was appointed CEO, he served as MAB’s chief operating officer since the its first day of full operations in September 2015.
MAB said Bellew’s appointment will ensure continuity in the execution of the carrier’s 6 billion Ringgit ($1.5 billion) turnaround plan and further progress in its overall restructuring effort, as set out by Khazanah.
An accelerated leadership transition was witnessed under Mueller, who resigned on March 10 and was supposed to serve his notice period up to Sept. 9.
Reports have emerged that Mueller might be heading to the world’s largest airline, Emirates, as its chief transformation officer.
According to MAB, Bellew has more than 20 years of experience in the aviation industry.
Under its restructuring initiatives, the Malaysian carrier was supposed to indulge in a strict fitness program, which included the sacking of some 6,000 employees, in an attempt to minimize operating costs.
MAB was under the first phase of its turnaround plan aimed at reporting profit by 2018.
The carrier had reported cumulative net adjusted losses between 2001 and 2014 of 8.4 billion Ringgit ($2.1 billion).
Malaysia Airlines shares were taken off the Malaysian stock exchange at the end of 2014.
