Jet Airways' acting CEO R Gopalakrishnan quits a little over two months after assuming the position

MUMBAI/DELHI: A little over two months after taking charge as acting chief executive officer of Jet Airways, Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan on Monday put in his papers, becoming the third company chief to quit after Jet announced its 24% stake sale to Etihad Airways last April.

A person close to the development said Jet has finalised Cramer Ball, a former CEO of Air Seychelles to take over as the next CEO of Jet Airways.
Gopalakrishnan, also the airline's chief financial officer, didn't comment on the resignation and neither did it two of its spokespersons.

The person said some more executives from the senior management team will quit the airline in the coming months. He didn't elaborate. Gopalakrishnan is supposed to be with the airline till May 5, but may ask for an early exit, the person said.

A chartered accountant and cost accountant with more than 23 years of experience, Gopalakrishnan had joined the airline as its CFO in 2012. He was also a part of the negotiating team of Jet Airways which churned out the deal with Etihad.

Jet has seen a churn in the top management even as it negotiated, steered through and finally consumated the Rs 2057 crore deal in November. In June 2013, its CEO Nikos Kardassis resigned from the airline. Six months later, the next chief Gary Kenneth Toomey left.

Meanwhile, in September, the airline's head of commercial strategy KG Vishwanath put in his papers ending an almost 15-year stint with the airline. Other senior finance executives Ananth Iyer and Shobha Randeria also left. Cramer would have joined by now hadn't the appointment process been delayed because of a letter the airline received from SEBI, the person said.

In February, SEBI sent a notice to Jet quoting an observation by the Competition Commission of India that the deal and its structure gave management control to Etihad, implying the airline should launch an open offer.

"Etihad has replied to the notice saying it doesn't exercise control. They are waiting to hear from the regulator now," he said. The constant chopping and changing at the head of the airline does not seem to have analysts or airline insiders worried.

“The management team of Jet Airways has shown it is strong enough to function without a full time CEO for more than a year now,” said an official at Jet Airways. “Nikos Kardassis’ had virtually left the airline in early 2013 and since then there hasn’t been a proper CEO. Even Toomey worked out of Australia most of the time.”

Fiscal 2013-14, so far has not been a good year for Jet Airways. In the 9-months of the fiscal so far, the airline has wiped out nearly the entire amount infused by Etihad. In the 9-months ended December 31,2013 the airline had accumulated a loss of Rs 1,514.28 crore over three quarters.

In December, after the final conclusion of the deal with Etihad, Jet Airways’ had an equity infusion of Rs 2,057 crore.

“A management churn is expected after a merger but yes such a frequent change is a surprise,” said an analyst with a foreign brokerage firm in Mumbai. The person did not want to be quoted as they are not authorised to speak directly to the media. “But in real terms, Jet Airways hasn’t suffered from the lack of strong CEO over the last year, primarily because its management has been strong.”

“However, with a CFO of the calibre of Gopalakrishnan is not an easy replacement,” the person added. “In the airline business in India, fiscal management is one
of the most important responsibilities because of the various sale and lease back agreements and loan repayment obligations which can make or break an airline given the thin margins of operations.”