Appointments can’t be pinned on me: Arvind Jadhav

New Delhi: Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav is facing uncomfortable questions over several hires at the carrier. These include the appointment of Pawan Arora as Air India Express chief operating officer (COO) and Stefan Sukumar as chief training officer at generous salaries by the airline that carries Rs40,000 crore of debt. The hiring programme started earlier this year at the state-run carrier as part of a turnaround plan when Austrian Gustav Baldauf was hired as its COO.
In an exclusive interview, Jadhav says the appointments issue is being reviewed and a detailed note will be presented to the airline’s board on 11 November.
Edited excerpts:
What is your view on the controversy over these appointments of officials from the private sector at the airline?
The appointment (of Baldauf) has been done by a committee (with members such as Anand Mahindra, Uday Kotak, Sajjan Jindal) headed by the secretary. Then he had presented the principles of the turnaround plan, which was also agreed to by the board.
And, we have allowed the COO to do it. He picked these two people (Arora and Sukumar). The committees were formed by him and he is the person who has recommended the names. So why should I doubt him? I have to stand by the COO then.
Moreover, Sukumar is not accountable (to the regulator). He is there to set up common world-class training facilities on the lines of Lufthansa for the entire Air India operations. No way we are diluting the mandatory requirement of DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). In case there is a need, we will make the COO an accountable manager also so that DGCA compliances are fully in line with the organization chart. This is work in progress.
03/11/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Air India Nov 2010