Tewolde Gebremariam to lead airline's next phase after Campbell Wilson's exit
New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday appointed former Ethiopian Airlines Group head Mr Tewolde Gebremariam as the new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director. He succeeds Mr Campbell Wilson, who resigned after leading the airline since its return to Tata Group ownership in 2022.
In a statement, Tata Sons chairman Mr N. Chandrasekaran said the airline was now entering a "critical execution and expansion era". The airline said that this executive transition marks a pivotal juncture in Air India’s transformation journey to become a world-class, leading global airline
Mr Tewolde led Ethiopian Airlines Group for more than a decade. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful aviation chief executives and during his decade-plus tenure as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, Mr Gebremariam spearheaded a multi-billion-dollar expansion, transforming a regional carrier into Africa’s largest, most profitable, and decorated airline group, growing revenue by more than fourfold and fleet size nearly threefold, Air India said.
The airline said that it was looking for a leader with a proven record of managing mega-scale airline turnarounds, delivering operational excellence, fostering a strong culture of safety and service, and driving profitable expansion. “Following an intensive evaluation process, the Air India board of directors unanimously concluded that Mr. Gebremariam possesses the ideal combination of leadership, deep operational expertise, and strategic execution capability required for Air India’s next phase of growth,” the airline said.
It added that his unique strength lies in managing complex operational landscapes, driving cultural transformation, building competitive global hubs, and developing world-class MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) and aviation training infrastructure.
