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Willie Walsh to retire, replaced by IB CEO

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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:08 am
  #1  
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Willie Walsh to retire, replaced by IB CEO

Just announced.

https://www.stockmarketwire.com/arti...to-retire.html
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:10 am
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I wonder if Cruz threw his hat in the ring?
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:29 am
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I won't mourn Slasher's passing, but am far from convinced that bringing in somebody from Iberia as a replacement will be an improvement.
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:39 am
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Originally Posted by V10
I won't mourn Slasher's passing, but am far from convinced that bringing in somebody from Iberia as a replacement will be an improvement.
More or less my thought. Good riddance but it won't change much either to the group's profitability or customer experience. Internal tensions and divergences are significant and do matter but the role of any given individual in arbitrating between them is actually very limited.

Incidentally, interesting that they would pick the head of IB rather than that of BA as successor to the group CEO. On this thread, we often underestimate how strongly IB's financial and operational situation has improved in recent years (and all that without any major IT and operational system scandals and without as tensed employer-employee relations as the BA side) and the significant impact of those improved figures on the group's overall results.
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Last edited by orbitmic; Jan 9, 2020 at 1:54 am
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:40 am
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Just to put more than a bare link - to follow FT's policy in this area:

Aer Lingus owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has said that Willie Walsh has decided to retire as chief executive.

Mr Walsh will stand down from the role and from the board of IAG on March 26 this year and will retire on June 30.

IAG said that Luis Gallego, currently Iberia chief executive, will succeed Mr Walsh.
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/202...ceo-to-retire/
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:42 am
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Look at his CV: Air Nostrum, Vueling, Iberia Express. Hardly from a premium background. Tbf he has turned a basket case into a profitable airline but definitely by following WW’s slasher mindset.

Unfortunately this is now modern aviation, I don’t think a publicly owned airline anywhere in the world can generate significant profits while delivering 1960’s soft product and 2020’s hard product, joe public (& increasingly most corporate travel budgets) just wont pay the premium.
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:43 am
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And just to also make the point that given BA's recent issues, there is absolutely no way that Cruz would have enjoyed the confidence of investors if he was to have taken up the role of Walsh's replacement.
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 1:52 am
  #8  
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Was Dame Carolyn in the running?
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 2:03 am
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Where is Lord King?
A race to become low cost... Think the word "British" should be deleted
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 2:05 am
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Originally Posted by wemyss
Where is Lord King?
A race to become low cost... Think the word "British" should be deleted
6 feet under.
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 2:18 am
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Originally Posted by wemyss
Think the word "British" should be deleted
There's no "British" in IAG...
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 3:39 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by cupsandsaucers
I wonder if Cruz threw his hat in the ring?


But maybe if the position at IB is open he could be sent there!
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 3:39 am
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Originally Posted by wemyss
Where is Lord King?
A race to become low cost... Think the word "British" should be deleted
You know Willie Walsh isn't British either, right?
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 3:53 am
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It is striking though that given the relative size of BA and IB, how many of the very top people come from the IB side. Are our managers really not up to the job? Is it the case of BA recruiting policies not getting the highest calibre of managers? It's curious.
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Last edited by Worcester; Jan 9, 2020 at 4:24 am
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Old Jan 9, 2020, 4:03 am
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by wemyss
Where is Lord King?
A race to become low cost... Think the word "British" should be deleted
There are higher cost options. There are four cabins on long haul. On short haul, you can pay a little more for a better seat in Y by sitting up front with some recline. The real problem is some people just don't appreciate how popular un-bundling costs is. The only issue I really have with BA on short haul is that the M&S offering is overpriced crap, has poor availability and is slower than easyJet.
BA's last British CEO was Bob Ayling who destroyed a lot of the good work done by Marshall and King. Ayling was a globalist in the Tony Blair mould, he dismantled the Landor brand in favour of the abstract world art of Project Utopia. Rod Eddington did a lot to fix this and he was Australian, Willie was of course Irish and Accenture Alex is Spanish. Perhaps a post Brexit BA might see a British CEO once Alex is enhanced elsewhere in the group?
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