The former Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci has been named the MD and CEO of Air India by Tata Sons. The decision was taken on Monday after a board meeting, in the presence of special invitee N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons. The company said that the appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.
Ayci was the chairman of Turkish Airlines and was on its board before that. Ayci was born in Istanbul in 1971 and was an alumnus of Bilkent University's Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 1994. He was a research stay in political science at Leeds University in the UK in 1995 after which he completed an International Relations Master's program at Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.
The new CEO and MD will resume his responsibilities on or before April 1.
Ilker Ayci called Air India an iconic airline and said he was honored to lead the carrier and join the Tata Group. He said that in collaboration with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata Group, we will use 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.
N Chandrasekaran said Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure. We are delighted to welcome Ilker to the Tata Group, where he would lead Air India into the new era. On January 27th, Tata Group took over the airline. The DIPAM secretary stated that the new owners of Air India are Talace and that the entire amount of Rs 2,700 crore has been received by the government. We have transferred shares. The entire 15,300 crore of debt that was to be retained was accepted, he said.
After the completion of the process, the conglomerate said that the Tata Group would like to acknowledge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to reforms and faith in India's entrepreneurship spirit, which made this historic transition possible. Our prime minister has demonstrated what his commitment to 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' means.