AAPA seeks new leader
A search has begun to find a new director general for the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) to replace Richard Stirland, who retires next year.
The AAPA, which represents 17 airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, is also seeking replacements for two other senior employees who have opted to depart the Kuala Lumpur-based association next year.
Stirland will retire in June 2004, having delayed his original departure date by a year because of the SARS outbreak that badly affected AAPA members between March and July.
Executive search company Spencer Stuart is seeking a replacement for Stirland. A selection announcement is expected late in the first quarter of 2004 or early in the second quarter.
The two other most senior AAPA employees who will also be leaving next year are technical director Leroy Keith and commercial director Carlos Chua, who have opted to retire at the end of their contracts. Keith has been with the AAPA for six years and Chua for nine.
"It is unfortunate in a way that all three of us have reached the age to retire within the same year, but this became inevitable when my own departure was postponed," Stirland said at the AAPA's annual meeting of member airline presidents in Jeju, South Korea, late in October. "However, I am confident that our successors will be quite capable of taking up the reins swiftly and making the AAPA an even more valuable asset to its members."
NICHOLAS IONIDES JEJU
Source: Airline Business