Major restructuring among top management at UAE’s Etihad airline

UAE airline Etihad has announced a major reshuffle among its top management as it seeks to implement a new operating model to position itself as a mid-sized, full-service carrier.

As part of the restructuring, chief commercial officer Robin Kamark will leave the airline. The business units within Commercial will be separated and transferred under Mohammad Al Bulooki, chief operating officer; Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer; and Terry Daly, who will assume the role of executive director guest experience, brand and marketing.

Additionally, Al Bulooki will assume responsibility for network planning, sales, revenue management, cargo and logistics, commercial strategy planning, and alliances.

Daly will lead the marketing, brand and partnerships department, and Etihad Guest, the airline’s loyalty programme, while continuing to oversee the customer experience and service delivery department.

Duncan Bureau, senior vice president sales and distribution, will also be leaving Etihad. Reporting directly to Mohammad, Martin Drew will take on Duncan’s portfolio alongside his current responsibilities as managing director for cargo and logistics.

Following the departure of Akram Alami, chief transformation officer, the procurement and supply chain department and transformation office will move under the leadership of Boukadida.

Boukadida will also assume responsibility for the analytics department, which previously sat within the commercial division.

Ibrahim Nassir, chief human resources and organisational development officer, will have an additional responsibility for the asset management department.

Mutaz Saleh will also be leaving his position as chief risk and compliance officer, following which Henning zur Hausen, general counsel, will take on additional responsibility for ethics and compliance, while risk and performance reporting will move under Boukadida.

Business Continuity will transfer to Ahmed Al Qubaisi, senior vice president government, international and communications.

Chief digital officer, Frank Meyer, chief engineering officer, Abdul Khaliq Saeed, and chief investments officer, Andrew Macfarlane which make up the senior management at the airline will continue in their respective positions, and report to the group chief executive officer.

Tony Douglas, the group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “After our best-ever Q1 performance, none of us could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead in the remainder of this year.

“As a responsible business, we can no longer continue to incrementally adapt to a marketplace that we believe has changed for the foreseeable future. That is why we are taking definitive and decisive action to adjust our business and position ourselves proudly as a mid-sized carrier. The first stage of this is an operational model change that will see us restructure our senior leadership team and our organisation to allow us to continue delivering on our mandate, ensuring long-term sustainability, and contributing to the growth and prominence of Abu Dhabi.”

The airline recently issued a $600m sukuk which is linked to its carbon reduction targets. It has committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a 50 per cent reduction in net emissions by 2035.

Read: UAE’s Etihad issues $600m sustainability-linked sukuk

The airline has resumed flights to over 60 destinations worldwide.