Wizz Air promotes two managers to executive board
LaMography
Two members of the management of Hungarian low fare airline Wizz Air have been promoted to the firm’s executive team, according to a press statement sent to the Budapest Business Journal.
Iain Wetherall, currently head of financial planning and control and investor relations, has been promoted to chief financial officer, taking effect as of August 1. As CFO, Wetherall will report to the company’s CEO and be responsible for the accounting and tax, financial planning and controlling, fleet acquisition and corporate finance and purchasing organizations.
Wetherall joined Wizz Air in July 2011 as head of corporate finance and, following the company’s initial public offering in 2015, he also led the company’s investor relations function before taking on his current role in September 2016. Wetherall holds an Advanced Treasury Diploma from the Association of Corporate Treasurers, a Securities and Investment Diploma from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments and was a securities representative authorized by the Securities and Futures Authority (now Financial Conduct Authority).
Prior to Wizz Air, he gained experience in tax and treasury, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, accounting, audit, corporate governance, internal control and consulting in various finance roles for Royal Ahold, PwC, KPMG and Singer & Friedlander Bank Limited.
Heiko Holm, currently head of technical services, has been promoted to become Wizz Air’s chief technical officer, reporting to Diederik Pen, executive VP and COO. As Wizz Air’s fleet continues to grow, the technical and operations complexity associated with the size of the fleet and its multi-base operation also increases, the airline says. To ensure that Wizz Air is adequately resourced for its future growth, the new position of CTO has been created in Wizz Air’s leadership team.
The CTO will remain the post-holder for continuing airworthiness and the accountable manager for Wizz Air’s Part 145 maintenance organization. Holm graduated from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany as an engineer specialized in aircraft construction and design and went on to build a career with Lufthansa Technik, ultimately becoming its director of operations in Shenzhen, China, from where he joined Wizz Air. The appointment takes effect from August 1.
“The promotion of Iain Wetherall to chief financial officer and Heiko Holm to the newly-created chief technical officer position are further examples of Wizz Air’s planning for its future significant growth by bringing additional capacity into its senior management team, while leveraging its great talent pool to promote from within,” said József Váradi, Wizz Air’s chief executive officer.
“Both Iain and Heiko have already proven themselves as successful leaders in Wizz Air, and each brings significant and extensive expertise to their role. I look forward to working with both of them closely as members of the leadership team as we continue to grow quickly but profitably, at the same time as implementing exciting projects at Wizz Air, including the introduction of the ultra-efficient Airbus A321NEO into our fleet as a new aircraft type from January 2019, bringing increased cost efficiency to the business as we continue to drive our aim of Wizz Air becoming the undisputed cost leader among European airlines,” Váradi.
Policymakers Cut Central Bank Base Rate by 50 bp to 7.75%
Bulgaria's Household Income, Spending Rise 20% in 2023
Spar Magyarország Revenue Climbs Close to 16% in 2023
Hungary Launches HUF 15 bln Tourism Sector Support Program
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
