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Kenya Airways (KQ) chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze will step down from his position in March, 2017 after just five years as the Chief Operating Officer and CEO for 2 years.
KQ’s Chairman Michael Joseph broke the news Thursday afternoon confirming that Mbuvi will stay on until his replacement is found, in a process expected to take ‘some’ months.
“The selection of the next CEO will be a thoughtful process led by myself together with the Board Governance and Nominations committee. I hope to complete this process within the next 3 months and I have already started the process to search for and identify the right candidate with the relevant airline experience,” Joseph said in a statement to newsrooms.
The news came exactly 29 days after the troubled airline’s immediate former chairman Dennis Awori resigned from his position after just one year in charge.
In an industry where change is the norm and loyalty is the exception, Mbuvi’s two-year tenure leading the airline was probably the toughest for the man who had widely been seen as the perfect fit to step into the shoes of long-serving Titus Naikuni.
His position had come under scrutiny from the public and Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) in the wake of shocking net loss of Sh26.2 billion for the year to March 2016, which was blamed on poor fuel hedging policy and a failed expansion strategy.
“The operational turnaround must stay in focus, but so too the financial stability of the business. The key outcomes desired during this phase of the turnaround are an improvement in liquidity and the reduction of the overall debt. Mbuvi is fully committed to this and will remain focused on delivering this before his departure in ensuring a successful transition,” read the statement.