Etihad Airways Airbus A320 A6-EIC at Kempegowda Airport, Bangalore
Etihad Airways Airbus A320 A6-EIC at Kempegowda Airport, Bangalore

Etihad speeds James Hogan’s exit. Ray Gammell is interim Group CEO

Ray Gammell has assumed full management responsibilities as the new interim Group CEO of The Etihad Aviation Group (EAG). Current President and Group CEO James Hogan, will formally leave the company on July 1, 2017. Gammell was the Group’s Chief People & Performance Officer.

In parallel Ricky Thirion the current SVP Group Treasurer, takes over full responsibilities of the Group CFO from James Rigney, who will also leave along with Hogan.

As per the company, the hunt for a permanent CEO is in its advanced stages and we should expect “an announcement in the next few weeks”.

Accelerate the “Reset”

The timing of this announcement and appointing the Irishman Gammell as an interim leader, suggest the Etihad ownership wants to accelerate its “strategic reset” on the equity alliance strategy championed by Hogan.

The Group’s costly investments in Alitalia SpA and Air Berlin Plc seem to be heading for naught as Alitalia seems ready to implode, and Air Berlin not too far behind.

July 1, is the first day of the “second half of the year” that the company had indicated earlier in the year when Hogan and Rigney would leave.

Robin Kamark who earlier worked for SAS Group will oversee its equity partnerships from October onwards.

Leadership biographies

As per the company,

Ray Gammell joined Etihad in 2009 as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, developing and leading the company’s people strategy to create a performance driven culture, enabling the growth of the business and positioning Etihad as one of the most attractive employers globally and in EMEA.

Ray is a chartered fellow at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and holds a Masters [sic] Degree from University College Dublin.

Ricky Thirion has overseen the Group Treasury of Etihad since July 2007. His areas of responsibility cover the treasury, corporate and structured finance, tax, insurance, payment solutions and fraud management, as well as the property and infrastructure portfolio.

Prior to Etihad, Ricky held roles as Group Treasurer at South African Airways and Managing Director in the Standard Bank Group.

Ricky holds a Masters [sic] Degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and is an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (UK).

Share your thoughts

Who do you think will Etihad appoint as its group CEO? Share your thoughts via a comment.

We still opine it could be Christoph Mueller.

About Devesh Agarwal

A electronics and automotive product management, marketing and branding expert, he was awarded a silver medal at the Lockheed Martin innovation competition 2010. He is ranked 6th on Mashable's list of aviation pros on Twitter and in addition to Bangalore Aviation, he has contributed to leading publications like Aviation Week, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Economic Times, and The Mint (a Wall Street Journal content partner). He remains a frequent flier and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Indian aviation industry without fear or favour.

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