Peter Bellew named CEO of Malaysia Airlines

Voyagers · Post time 1-7-2016 08:51 AM

Peter Bellew named CEO of Malaysia Airlines

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Berhad Chief Operating Officer Peter Bellew has been named the airline's new Chief Executive Officer from Jul 1, Malaysian investment fund Khazanah announced in a media release on Thursday (Jun 30).

Mr Bellew will also be the Group Managing Director of Malaysia Aviation Group and Malaysia Airlines, the media release stated.

Khazanah added that the appointment was discussed and recorded at its board of directors' meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Jun 21, 2016.

"His appointment will ensure continuity and further progress of the overall restructuring effort, under the five-year 12-point MAS Recovery Plan (MRP) launched by Khazanah on Aug 29, 2014. As Group MD and CEO, Mr Bellew’s primary tasks are to successfully implement the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines, as well as develop Malaysian leadership succession at MAB," the release said.

The airlines' former CEO Christoph Mueller, who was hired last year, launched a painful rescue plan that entailed slashing 6,000 jobs and dramatically trimming the carrier's route network.

But he announced his departure from the company on Apr 19, well before the end of his three-year contract, due to "a change in personal circumstances".

Khazanah took Malaysia Airlines private in 2014, as part of a 6.0 billion ringgit (US$1.5 billion) plan to help it return to profit. The devastating MH370 and MH17 disasters in 2014 pushed the perennially loss-making airline to the brink of bankruptcy as bookings dried up.

Flight MH370 disappeared on Mar 8 of that year, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew. Debris found in the Indian Ocean has confirmed the Boeing 777 went down but what happened remains a mystery.

Four months later, MH17 was blown from the sky by a suspected Russian-made ground-to-air missile over war-torn Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew.

- CNA/AFP/dl/ec

Voyagers · Post time 1-7-2016 08:53 AM

Bellew to helm MAS, Mueller join Emirates?

PETALING JAYA: Christoph Mueller may have been coy about his next move after he said he would quit Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS), but a report has surfaced saying that he is headed for the world’s largest airline, Emirates.

The report, which appeared in the German publication manager magazin and several others including the BoardingArea website, stated that Mueller would join Emirates as its chief transformation officer.

The report speculated that Mueller would be leading the airline’s digitisation strategy.

“Malaysia Airlines does not comment on speculation and any questions regarding Mueller’s future should be directed to him,” a company spokeperson said when contacted by StarBiz.

Speculation is rife that the board is likely to name Peter Bellew as the person to helm the airline when Mueller leaves on Sept 1.

“We expect an announcement on the replacement of Mueller this week,” said a source.

An airline executive added that “announcing the replacement should be priority to put to rest unnecessary speculation and lobbying”.

“In the interest of continuity, Bellew is the man. He is already entrenched in the day-to-day running of the airline, has the expertise and experience, and vast knowledge of the airline industry.

“Getting someone else will just put a spanner in the works. MAS does not need any more disruptions and distractions.”

It is said that Bellew has signed the acceptance letter, pending some other approvals.

Bellew was appointed executive director after Mueller said he was leaving MAS for personal reasons.

While up to last month, Mueller had been silent about his next move, the BoardingArea report, though unverified, had surprised many in the industry.

Mueller had said that his early departure from MAS was due to personal reasons.

But there had been reports that he quit because of the culture in MAS and that some decisions had been taken without him being consulted.

An aviation executive said, “To be fair, Mueller knew pretty well what he was getting into. He came in with his eyes wide open.... he accepted it, took drastic steps to turn the airline around, but has to leave before the job is done.”

Whatever the reasons, Mueller has built a name for himself in the industry as a transformation expert and it is no surprise that he is being offered by Emirates.

Mueller did not respond to queries from StarBiz.

He was instrumental in getting Emirates to be MAS’ partner, something the latter needs going forward. The move to have Emirates as a partner will help in terms of traffic volume and also reputation.

There could also be a bigger game planned for Mueller at Emirates as BoardingArea alludes to, saying “Emirates president, Tim Clark, is 66, so I wouldn’t be surprised if 54-year-old Christoph Mueller will eventually replace him. He’d be a good fit.”

Loxlaxman · Post time 1-7-2016 08:58 AM

Yang lama kutuk staff MAS kaki lena tido merata...buang 6000 orang. Yang ni apa pulak lepas ni?

cmf_premierleag · Post time 1-7-2016 10:53 AM

So khazanaj lantik ceo kokesen lagi
Ketuanan meleis hamno mesti rasa tercabar

bluehedgehog · Post time 1-7-2016 11:15 AM

bila ditegur pemalas...ummah sentap
bila ditegur beli mahal...ummah sentap

minah_kidal · Post time 1-7-2016 01:01 PM

hmm kokesen lg ke?

aks_berhad · Post time 1-7-2016 01:10 PM

Muller join Emirates??

aku tertarik dgn statement ni :
He was instrumental in getting Emirates to be MAS’ partner, something the latter needs going forward. The move to have Emirates as a partner will help in terms of traffic volume and also reputation.

dengan harapan, MAS dgn Emirates akan jadi mcm adik beradik lepas ni. So plan transformasi akan lebih mudah.