Air India appointed Tewolde Gebremariam as its new chief executive officer and managing director. The appointment came months after Air India CEO Campbell Wilson resigned amid mounting losses and a slower-than-expected turnaround of the Tata Group-owned airline.“During his decade-plus tenure as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, he 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 three-fold,” Air India said in a statement.According to the release, his key strengths include navigating complex operational environments, leading cultural transformation, establishing competitive global hubs, and developing world-class MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facilities and aviation training infrastructure.Wilson, who had joined in July 2022, stepped down after the board accepted his resignation and remained in the role during his notice period until a successor was appointed.Meet Tewolde GebremariamTewolde Gebremariam is an Ethiopian business executive and one of Africa’s most recognised aviation leaders. He served as Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group from 2011 until 2022, overseeing a decade of rapid expansion that transformed the carrier into Africa’s largest airline.During his 11-year tenure, Ethiopian Airlines grew its fleet from 33 aircraft to 130, while annual passenger numbers increased from around 3 million to 12 million before the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline also reported a rise in annual revenue from about $1 billion to $4.5 billion under his leadership. He steered the airline through the pandemic without government bailouts by expanding its cargo operations and maintaining profitability.In March 2022, Gebremariam stepped down, citing health issues that had affected him for nearly a year.
