Business
Wizz Air appoints new chief officers
Wizz Air has appointed Stephen Jones as Wizz Air's Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Jones will take up his appointment during the latter part of 2017. As Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Jones will report to the Company's Chief Executive Officer and be a member of the Company's executive team. He will be responsible for Wizz Air's commercial, marketing and information technology organizations with the Company's Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Information Technology as direct reports, as well as being an important part of the Board's succession planning.
Jones, who is a national of both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, has been the Chief Strategy, Network and Alliances Officer at Air New Zealand since 2013 during which time he was responsible for the airline's overall corporate strategy, network development, alliances and sustainability. He oversaw the airline's tightly cost-managed response to significant domestic competition from low cost carriers as well as the turnaround of the airline's international business in the face of severe competition from many Asian, Middle Eastern and low cost carriers in the trans-Tasman market, one of the most competitive markets in the world.
Iain Wetherall, currently Head of Financial Planning & Control and Investor Relations, is promoted to Chief Financial Officer with effect from 01 August 2017. As Chief Financial Officer, Iain will report to the Company's Chief Executive Officer and be responsible for the accounting and tax, financial planning and controlling, fleet acquisition and corporate finance and purchasing organizations.
He joined Wizz Air in July 2011 as Head of Corporate Finance and, following the Company's initial public offering in 2015, he also led the Company's investor relations function before taking on his current role in September 2016.
Heiko Holm, currently Head of Technical Services, is promoted to become Wizz Air's Chief Technical Officer, reporting to Diederik Pen, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. The appointment takes effect from 01 August 2017.
Jones, who is a national of both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, has been the Chief Strategy, Network and Alliances Officer at Air New Zealand since 2013 during which time he was responsible for the airline's overall corporate strategy, network development, alliances and sustainability. He oversaw the airline's tightly cost-managed response to significant domestic competition from low cost carriers as well as the turnaround of the airline's international business in the face of severe competition from many Asian, Middle Eastern and low cost carriers in the trans-Tasman market, one of the most competitive markets in the world.
Iain Wetherall, currently Head of Financial Planning & Control and Investor Relations, is promoted to Chief Financial Officer with effect from 01 August 2017. As Chief Financial Officer, Iain will report to the Company's Chief Executive Officer and be responsible for the accounting and tax, financial planning and controlling, fleet acquisition and corporate finance and purchasing organizations.
He joined Wizz Air in July 2011 as Head of Corporate Finance and, following the Company's initial public offering in 2015, he also led the Company's investor relations function before taking on his current role in September 2016.
Heiko Holm, currently Head of Technical Services, is promoted to become Wizz Air's Chief Technical Officer, reporting to Diederik Pen, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. The appointment takes effect from 01 August 2017.
