Ilker Ayci was always a surprise choice for running Air India. A man of varied experience, with only one stint in aviation and a controversial background. It is not clear here whether Tatas did adequate background checks and possible challenges in getting their names approved by the home ministry.
With Ayci rejecting the offer, Tata will have to find a new CEO again. This is not the first time the Tata group is facing this problem. Tata Motors also faced a similar situation when Marc Llistosella did not join the company citing personal reasons. Then the company informed the stock market about the change in corner office.
It is now believed that Tata is looking to hire a management expert from within the group, who knows the group’s workings and practices better than the outside leader, and that would not be a bad idea.
A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is an essential and accountable position in an airline and the post is lying vacant in Air India after it was handed over to Tata in January this year.
The CEO is more than just a position in an airline. He is accountable and represents the airline on the advisory council constituted by the Minister of Civil Aviation. However, earlier the recruitment structure in Air India was through the IAS cadre instead of private companies.
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Will any CEO be made from the group itself?
He was new to aviation when Ayci took over at Turkish Airlines. With two rumors and a false start, will the Tata group rely on executives within its group to rise to the challenge, and other positions to be filled by expats?
This could go one way: appointing multiple other CXOs with an aviation background who will report to a CEO. This CEO will be a management expert from the group and knows the group’s functioning and practices better than the outside leader.
After troubled years as chairman of the Tata Group, when Cyrus Mistry was ousted, the group relied on N Chandrasekhar, who stepped down from TCS, to take over as the group’s chairman.
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