The embattled South African Airways (SAA) is said to have appointed a new interim CEO. This is according to Fin24.
According to the publication, Thomas Kgokolo was appointed by the interim board and took up his position on April 13.
The publication reported that his mandate was to oversee the airline’s smooth transition from the business rescue process to its re-entry to the market and bring fresh leadership to the airline.
According to his profile on professional networking site, LinkedIn, Kgokolo is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
He is also a lecturer of corporate finance, financial, and management accounting for the MBA and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (PDBA) programmes at GIBS.
His professional profile also shows that he served as the board chairperson at the Mineworkers Provident Fund (MWPF), a position that required him to oversee R28 billion assets under management. He was also a non-executive director at both Air Traffic Navigation Services and Sizwe Medical Fund.
“He is a member of the audit committee at the Financial Intelligence Centre and National Consumer Tribunal,” his profile further revealed.
Before joining GIBS, Kgokolo had acquired experience in strategy, governance, and financial roles. He was once the chief financial officer (CFO) at the Competition Commission of South Africa and more recently, he served as chief executive officer (CEO) at the Air Traffic Navigation Services.
Kgokolo’s work experience has seen him provide strategy, finance, and governance consulting to select clients in both the private and public sectors.
Kgokolo’s appointment at the helm of SAA comes at a time when the national carrier appears to be making strides in turning around its misfortunes. Last month its administrators said that SAA was close to being both “solvent and liquid”, after being unprofitable for years and stayed afloat due to bailouts and debt guarantees from its shareholder, the government.
Nevertheless, despite an almost 80% reduction in its workforce and a cut in liabilities to R2.6 billion from R38 billion, the carrier is still grounded. All domestic and regional SAA-operated flights have been suspended since March 2020, and are expected to resume no earlier than April 30, 2021, while all SAA-operated international flights are suspended until October 30, 2021.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE