The joint CEOs were appointed following the announcement of Erik Venter's resignation last week.
Comair announced the appointment of joint CEOs Glenn Orsmond and Wrenelle Stander with effect from 31 July following the resignation of Erik Venter last week.
Wrenelle will serve as joint CEO: Airlines, while Glenn will serve as joint CEO: Non-Airline Business and Financial Services.
In a statement, Comair said that both incoming CEOs bring a wealth of experience to their roles. Wrenelle is currently executive director of Comair’s airline division. She holds an MBA from Oxford Brookes University in the UK, as well as a BA (Hons) degree from UCT. Wrenelle has held a range of executive leadership positions within the South African civil aviation industry, including managing director of Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company, deputy CEO of South African Civil Aviation Authority, and chief director of Aviation and Maritime Regulation at Sasol Gas.
Glenn was Comair’s financial director for eight years from 1995 to 2003. He has had an illustrious career in the South African aviation industry, having held senior leadership roles including FD at Sun Air, co-founding group FD, group CEO and co-founder of 1Time, CEO at Jetworx Aircraft Maintenance and most recently CFO at Star Air Cargo.
Comair chairman Piet van Hoven said:
“The new CEOs’ task will be to optimise our airline business performance whilst also building on the diversification strategy that has been central to the group’s growth in stagnant market conditions.
“The Group is less reliant on the notoriously volatile airline businesses, which are so dependent on the performance of the broader economy. These other businesses now contribute 30% of profit.”
Comair has had joint CEOs at the helm before. According to the statement, the board believes that the combined experience of nearly 60 years in the aviation industry, supported by their individual strengths will be the recipe for success to further build on Comair’s legacy of achieving 73 years’ uninterrupted operating profit.
