Kenya Airways chief
executive Sebastian Mikosz has hired five new executives from Poland —
his home country – signalling a looming shake-up of the airline’s senior
management.
It is not unusual for an
outsider CEO to bring in a group of individuals upon taking charge of a
corporation, but management experts said taking on board such a large
number of expatriates in senior positions that early in his tenure could
be counter-productive.
Kenya Airways insiders
said the decision has already caused tension among workers who see it as
a purge of individuals hired under the leadership of former CEOs Titus
Naikuni and Mbuvi Ngunze under whose watch the airline nosedived to near
bankruptcy.
In an email to staff, Mr
Mikosz announced that the five expatriates were hired from his former
employer, LOT Polish Airlines, effective September 1.
They are Monika Kietyka-Michna, Edyta Kijewska-Teny, Magdalena Serwach, Marcin Celejewski and Micha Mierciak.
KQ did not comment on
this story, but Mr Mikosz’ said in the email that the new executives
came as part of a restructuring plan that seeks to return the airline to
profitability.
“As Kenya Airways is
finalising the restructuring process and is about to embark on its
mission to profitability, I decided to strengthen the Transformation
Office with a team of airline professionals who have accomplished
similar goals before,” Mr Mikosz says in the email, adding that the new
team will report directly to him.
Take Over Key Operations
This means the
expatriates have effectively taken charge of KQ’s key operation areas
and that the CEO is counting on them to achieve his objectives.
The emerging power shift
has reportedly led to the departure of at least three senior KQ
managers while KQ’s director of flight operations Noel Malinda has left
the position to resume flying.
“The role of the team
will as well be focused on training our young talent and help me improve
our processes – therefore they might contact you directly to involve in
realising the key projects for KQ,” Mr Mikosz said.
Ms Kietyka-Michna, a
former chief corporate officer at LOT Polish Airlines, has knowledge of
strategic management in back office operations, while Ms Kijewska-Teny
understands data and IT systems having previously worked for Poland’s
national carrier as programme manager for implementing its business
process management software.
Ms Serwach is a
corporate lawyer with experience in corporate governance, cohesion and
compliance of internal corporate procedures.
Mr Celejewski, an
“author and implementer of growth and development strategies”,
previously worked for LOT Polish Airlines as chief commercial officer.
Mr Mierciak is a procurement expert and centralised the purchase function at Poland’s national airline.
Boost Performance and Revenues
The new team has been
tasked with implementing key objectives throughout the company,
including creating, driving and guarding cohesion of KQ strategy.
They will build a
reporting system to enable the monitoring of key performance targets and
providing fair and transparent information on company performance.
They will monitor and
support the execution of all functional and project actions of the
company, including special projects set by Mr Mikosz.
The team is also
expected to focus on boosting the revenue of KQ throughout the company
and improving the airline’s customer experience.
The entry of Mr Mikosz’s
team signals the company’s belief that negligence or incompetence of
its top leadership played a role in its slump to losses that wiped out
shareholder wealth.
Scores of KQ’s
executives and non-executive directors have left the company in the past
few years, including former finance director Alex Mbugua.
Prior to hiring Mr
Mikosz, who established his turnaround credentials at LOT Polish
Airlines, KQ chairman Michael Joseph doubted if there was a Kenyan
capable of reviving the Nairobi Securities Exchange- listed firm.
Mr Mikosz’s appointment
marks the return of an expatriate CEO since Brian Davies, a Briton, led
the company for seven years until 1999.
Mr Mikosz, who would
have had to build his knowledge of Nairobi’s aviation top talent from
scratch, has in turn also opted to tap his compatriots to cut the
learning curve.
The new CEO is betting on KQ’s recent debt restructure to buy him time to get the airline back on its feet.
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