Vinod Kannan to remain chief integration officer at merged Air India

Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan (File photo: PTI)

NEW DELHI: Days ahead of the Nov 12 Vistara merger into Air India, the new top level designations at the merged airline have been finalised. Vinod Kannan, CEO of Vistara, will continue hold the role of chief integration officer for the full-service airlines’ merger. He will be a member of the management committee and report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.
Vistara chief commercial officer Deepak Rajawat will be the chief financial officer at the newly-enlarged Air India Express, reporting to CEO Aloke Singh. He will also support Group CFO Sanjay Sharma in strategic initiatives and projects. Vikas Agarwal, the current CFO of Air India Express, will move to a new role in Air India.
Captain Hamish Maxwell, SVP Flight Operations of Vistara, has assumed an advisory role to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, while Captain Pushpinder Singh, chief operations officer of Air India Express, returns to flying.
Deepa Chadha and Vinod Bhatt, SVP HR & corporate affairs and chief information officer of Vistara respectively, will take on senior roles at other Tata group companies, while Vistara CFO Niyant Maru, who had continued beyond his superannuation date to see through completion of the merger, will retire at the end of his current term.
All other Air India Group CXO roles and reporting lines roles remain unchanged.
Announcing these transitions, Campbell Wilson said: “Over the past two years the four Tata airlines have worked hard to prepare for and execute one of the most complex mergers in aviation history, consolidating from four airlines to two in the context of dramatic growth and wholesale transformation. As we now approach the end of that process, we are delighted to formalise a Group leadership comprising colleagues from all four antecedent airlines to drive the next phase of our journey. I would also like to acknowledge those who, whether retiring or taking up other roles within the Tata group, have contributed so significantly not just to the consolidation process but, over many years, to the DNA of what is now the new Air India.”