Malaysia Airlines new management effective January 1

 Neelam Mathews

Jan 2, 2012

Malaysia Airlines has unveiled a management structure effective January 1. In the new structure, Customer Experience, Operations, Human Capital, Network, Alliance, Strategy & Planning will now report directly to GCEO Ahmad Jauhari who also takes on the role as CEO of Long-Haul. 

Mohammed Rashdan, in his capacity as Deputy Group CEO and CEO of Short-Haul, will lead the charge for the operations of Short-Haul, Group Finance, Aircraft Finance & Management, and in the interim helm Commercial.

Ahmad Jauhari said: “The organisation structure ….involves the setting up of several new business units and the re-naming of existing functions as well as the introduction of new leaders to take over from familiar faces who have decided to pursue other career opportunities.This will ensure both the smooth transfer of responsibilities and the successful execution of the Business Plan to enhance the Group’s reputation and significance for its eventual entry into the oneworld alliance by the end of 2012.” 

Among the new and re-named business units are: 

• Network, Alliance, Strategy & Planning : This new division will support the effective implementation of the Group’s network to meet the dynamic needs of the market and to leverage on strategic alliances and partnerships with other airlines. It is one of the Game Changers of the recently announced Business Plan, and it will focus on aspects covering Rights Planning, Network, Aircraft Utilisation and Strategy.  

• Program Management Office : This team will drive implementation, alignment and tracking of key initiatives and activities to support the Business Plan’s Recovery phase and Game Changers to unlock and maximize the value of Malaysia Airlines Group.  

• Communications will be renamed Strategic Communications, Corporate Finance will be renamed Aircraft Finance & Management, whereas Audit & Business Advisory will be renamed Internal Audit, reflecting the heightened roles of these business units required to support the Business Plan. 

The new Organisation Structure proceeds with the departure of several leaders of the Malaysia Airlines team, including Amin Khan (from Commercial Strategy), Mohd Roslan Ismail (from MAS Aerospace Engineering), Shahari Tan Sri Dato’ Sulaiman (from MASkargo) and Datin Sharifah Salwa Syed Kamaruddin (from Revenue Management). 

“I take this opportunity to thank these colleagues for their many contributions, commitment and dedication to Malaysia Airlines and wish them well in their future endeavours. Moving forward, the Group’s leadership team will be strengthened with the entry of highly experienced talents, namely Hugh Dunleavy to lead Network, Alliance, Strategy & Planning and Shihaj Kutty to lead Revenue Management,” said Ahmad Jauhari. 

Hugh Dunleavy, has more than 30 years experience in the aviation industry, and joins Malaysia Airlines with a solid reputation for delivering results in his assigned areas. These include strategy and planning, revenue/yield management, airline alliances, decision support systems, operations research and regulatory affairs. Hugh has held senior positions at WestJet Airlines, Lufthansa Systems, Star Alliance, Air Canada and at PROS (Passenger Revenue Optimization Systems) Revenue Management.

Shihaj Kutty has over 15 years experience in aviation, specifically in sales and revenue management, as well as managing reservations and ticketing offices for major European and Gulf carriers while based in the Gulf region. He joins Malaysia Airlines from Etihad Airways where he was Head of Pricing. 

Both Hugh and Shihaj report for duty at Malaysia Airlines by mid-January 2012.