 agencies
MUMBAI, Feb 22: Jalan Kalrock Consortium promoted Jet Airways on Tuesday said it has appointed Vipula Gunatilleka as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to revive the operations of the air carrier.
Gunatilleka will be taking charge of the new role from March 1, 2022, the company said in a statement issued here.
Prior to joining Jet Airways, Gunatilleka was the CEO of SriLankan Airlines until January 2022 where he was instrumental in re-structuring the airlines.
"In less than two years after assuming the duties as the CEO, the airline recorded positive EBITDA/cash flow for the fiscal year 2019-2020 notwithstanding the devastating effects of the terror attacks in April 2019 in Sri Lanka, followed by the global pandemic early 2020," the statement said.
Prior to joining SriLankan Airlines, Gunatilleka was the CFO and Board Member of TAAG Angola Airlines from November 2015 to July 2018 under Emirates Management, where he played a pivotal role to turnaround the loss-making national carrier of Angola.
"Gunatilleka is an aviation expert and regarded as a turnaround specialist in the industry. He has been shortlisted after a rigorous process run by our Executive team over the last several months. I am certain he will be an asset to the organisation and will provide the necessary vision to revive the operations of Jet Airways as per the plans of the consortium," Ankit Jalan, Member of the Monitoring Committee of Jet Airways and part of Jalan-Kalrock Consortium said.
A Chartered Accountant, Gunatilleka is known for his astute knowledge in aircraft financing, strategic planning, cost-efficient business modelling and openness to adopt hybrid models to keep business costs low and efficiency high.
Speaking on his plans, Gunatilleka said: "I look forward to contributing my knowledge of the last 30 years in Jet Airways' resurgence in its new avatar. We will capitalize on the strong brand value which Jet Airways has in the market and use it to rebuild the lost ground." |
