Air Malta appoints six chief officers

Five of the six posts of chief officer at Air Malta have been filled by staff on its books, the airline said yesterday.

A public call for applications for these posts was issued some months ago. Joe Cappello will retain his position as chief operating officer with responsibility for commercial and operational activities.

Emmanuel Agius, who will be reporting to the chief operating officer, is the new chief officer for operations and maintenance.

Dominic Attard has been appointed chief officer strategic planning and Alfred Lupi is chief officer finance.

Catherine Tabone is chief officer for international and EU affairs and Wilfred Borg is chief officer responsible for subsidiaries.

The only person who is being engaged from outside the Air Malta organisation is Adrian Coppini who has been appointed chief officer for human resources and corporate services.

The company still has to appoint a chief officer for internal audit who, within the new rules of corporate governance, will report to the audit committee and the chairman of the board of directors.

"Finally we have taken the first in a series of steps which will bring about radical changes in our organisation," Ernst Funk, Air Malta's CEO, said. "I am very confident that I can work with these colleagues to further pave Air Malta's way into the future and to take the company forward to meet the competitive challenges we are facing.

"The new chief officers will take ownership of their new functions and of the various defined processes within the next few days."

Lawrence Zammit, chairman of Air Malta, said the selection process was conducted in a very fair and transparent manner. The selection board consisted of Mr Zammit himself, the CEO, one non-executive director and a consultant.

"The fact that most of the positions have been filled from within the company shows that Air Malta has the strength to correct the core business losses which have been evident for the last three to four years.

"I am confident that under the guidance of the board of directors and with the full cooperation of the unions, the staff and our other strategic stakeholders, the new senior management team will be able to make a significant contribution and take our business forward," Mr Zammit said.