Even if you’re not familiar with planes or the airline business, you’ve probably heard the name Tony Fernandes popping up from time to time. The CEO of Capital A (formerly AirAsia Group) has been under fire for a long while now for delayed refunds to passengers. But it was previously reported that AirAsia promised to give back everyone’s money one way or another.
In case you didn’t know, the 58-year-old is also the CEO of the AirAsia X Group. It was previously known as FlyAsianXpress and is the sister company of AirAsia. But now, it’s been announced that Tony has apparently let go of that position.
Yesterday (31st October), AirAsia released a statement to announce that Tony Fernandes will be stepping down as the Acting Group CEO and from his other senior leadership positions with AirAsia X. The entrepreneur was previously appointed as the Acting Group CEO back in July of this year. The AirAsia executive also posted about his resignation on his Instagram.
“Great day for me. Acting CEO for X was always a short-term job to get AirasiaX back to where it should be. It’s now time to step down and focus on Capital A. Very excited about the future of Airasia X,” he captioned. It is currently unknown why Tony is stepping down from his positions at AirAsia X as he only cited other commitments. So who will take his position?
According to the statement released, Tunku Dato’ Mahmood Fawzy has now been appointed as the Independent Non-Executive Director of Thai AirAsia X (TAAX). “I am thrilled to join the TAAX board of directors as the Group embarks on our new phase of growth as a predominantly mid-range airline. As AAX and TAAX chart a new and exciting era, I am thrilled to be part of the onward success of AAX Group as we take both airlines to new altitudes in the future,” he said in the statement.
So what’s next for Tony? No, he’s not retiring just yet. Instead, he will now concentrate on providing significant value to Capital A Bhd’s shareholders, including the AirAsia Aviation Group, aviation services, logistics, travel, fintech, and the e-commerce lifestyle platform.
Sources: AirAsia, Instagram, TheStar, FreeMalaysiaToday
