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Scoot chief Campbell Wilson to be CEO & MD of Air India – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Air India finally has a chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) with Tata Sons appointing Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson to the position.
Scoot is the low cost arm of Tata’s JV partner in Vistara, Singapore Airlines (SIA). His appointment is subject to getting required regulatory approvals.
Wilson, 50, has 26 years of aviation industry expertise across both full service and low cost airlines.
The New Zealand-born Wilson’s last day at Scoot will be June 15 and former Vistara CEO, Leslie Thng who is now SIA senior VP (sales and marketing) will take his position as the low cost carrier. Thng was Vistara CEO had returned to SIA after an over four-year stint with Vistara as CEO.
Tata Group and Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran said: “I am delighted to welcome Campbell to Air India. He is an industry veteran having worked in key global markets cutting across multiple functions. Further, Air India would benefit from his added experience of having built an airline brand in Asia. I look forward to working with him in building a world-class airline.”
Wilson said: “It is honour to be selected to lead the iconic Air India and be a part of the highly respected Tata Group. Air India is at the cusp of an exciting journey to become one of the best airlines in the world, offering world-class products and services with a distinct customer experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality. I am excited to join Air India and Tata colleagues in the mission of realising that ambition.”
Tata Group had earlier selected former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci — confidante of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is not exactly known to be a friend of India — as AI MD & CEO. Later Ayci declines to take up this offer.
Getting an aviation background CEO for AI was crucial to take the airline ahead. The Tatas have selected someone who has experience of both budget and full service carriers as they have four airlines — AI and Vistara (full service) and AI Express and AirAsia India (budget).
Wilson started off as a management trainee with SIA in New Zealand in 1996. He then worked for SIA in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO of Scoot, which he led until 2016.
He then served as the senior VP sales & marketing of SIA, where he oversaw pricing, distribution, e-commerce, merchandising, brand & marketing, global sales and the airline’s overseas offices, before returning for a second stint as the CEO of Scoot in April 2020.
Wilson holds a master of commerce in business administration from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
Watch Campbell Wilson appointed Air India MD & CEO