Vistara CEO to lead major post-merger integration as Air India reshuffles senior management

Air India Group announced a reshuffling of its senior management team on Friday, as it prepares for the merger of Vistara with Air India, set to take place on November 12.

Vistara, a full-service carrier that is a joint venture between Tata Sons (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%), is gearing up for its integration with Air India.

Vinod Kanan, CEO of Vistara and the Chief Integration Officer for the merger, will continue to oversee the integration post-merger. He will also join the management committee and report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.

As part of the changes, Deepak Rajawat, Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer, will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer at Air India Express. He will report to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh and assist Air India Group CFO Sanjay Sharma on strategic initiatives. This move will result in Vikas Agarwal, the current CFO of Air India Express, transitioning to a new position within Air India.

In flight operations, Vistara’s Senior Vice President Hamish Maxwell has taken on an advisory role with Air India Express CEO, while Pushpinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Air India Express, will return to flying duties. A successor to Singh will be announced soon.

Other key personnel changes include Deepa Chadha, Senior Vice President of HR & Corporate Affairs at Vistara, and Vinod Bhatt, Chief Information Officer, both of whom will take on senior roles at other Tata Group companies. Vistara’s CFO, Niyant Maru, who has stayed on beyond his retirement to oversee the merger, will retire at the end of his current term.

All other Air India Group executive roles and reporting lines remain unchanged.

Air India CEO reflects on two years of transformation and growth

"Over the past two years, the four Tata airlines have worked hard to prepare for and execute one of the most complex mergers in aviation history, consolidating from four airlines to two in the context of dramatic growth and wholesale transformation. As we now approach the end of that process, have formalised a Group leadership comprising colleagues from all four antecedent airlines to drive the next phase of our journey," said Wilson.