SAA gets a new interim CEO
Thomas Kgokolo has been appointed by the interim board as new interim CEO of South African Airways (SAA).
He assumed the position on 13 April, according to internal communication seen by Fin24.
His mandate is 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 the website of the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS), of which he is a director, Kgokolo is a chartered accountant and holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He joined ATNS as a board member in 2018.
He has previously served as both chief financial officer and chief risk officer at the Competition Commission.
In the past, he was nominated for various awards, such as Top Chartered Accountant under 35 and Top 40 Outstanding Young Leaders under 40 by Destiny Man magazine.
In July 2020, it was announced that Philip Saunders was appointed as an interim CEO of SAA.
SAA has been in business rescue since December 2019. The rescue practitioners are finalising matters so that they can exit the process and hand the airline back to the interim board. A receivership has been put in place to finalise the last payments stipulated in the rescue plan over the next three years.
In addition to Kgokolo, the interim board has appointed three interim executives, namely Fikile Mhlontlo as interim chief financial officer, Mpho Letlape as interim human resources executive and Captain Sakhile Reiling as executive: operations.