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Hong Kong Airlines appoints new CEO
May 10th 2019
Ownership dispute continues but airline says the appointments are ordinary. Read More »
Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) announced on May 9 a series of management changes with immediate effect. One position not changing is the most closely-watched: chairman Hou Wei. Hou’s chairmanship is contested by a faction led by shareholder Zhong Guosong.
Sun Jianfeng has been appointed to the new position of CEO and will be the designated liaison to regulator Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department. Hou and Sun worked together at Hainan Airlines. But at Hainan, Sun was CEO and Hou CMO/VP.
Wang Liya has resigned as president. Wang will continue to serve as an advisor to HKA, according to the airline. No replacement has been announced yet. Wang does not have an HNA background but rather had a career with mainland regulator CAAC.
Since November 2018, these three executives – Hou, Sun and Wang – have been the only directors of Hong Kong Airlines International Holdings (HKAIH), which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and wholly owns a British Virgin Islands company that, in turn, owns HKA.
Hou became a director of HKAIH in September 2018 while Wang was appointed in May 2018, well after he joined HKA in 2016. Six directors of HKAIH resigned over the course of 2018.
HKA has also appointed Li Neng as VP and CFO while Lu Zengrong is VP. Both are from HNA.
The large number of executive changes is notable since Zhong succeeded in court to have an injunction extended against HKA executives including Hou, Wang and Sun. Tang Kit, Zeng Jun and Zhang Ziyan were also named in the April 23 injunction but were not part of the May 9 management change.
The injunction includes orders not to change shares or issue new shares or make certain changes to HKA’s business. But only Zeng Jun was ordered not to appoint directors.
On a April 25 hearing at Hong Kong’s High Court, the parties agreed to wider protection for HKA. This included modifying a clause about preventing “substantial” changes to instead say “material”. They also agreed management could not be “diminishing” the value of any part of HKA.
These statements concerned HKA’s business and not individual management. Counsel at the hearing for Hou argued the chairman and his team needed the right to exercise management discretion.
HKA says in a statement: “The decision to introduce new positions in the HKA management team is within the ordinary course of our business.”
