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THAI appoints acting president after Sumeth abruptly resigns
March 20th 2020
Thai Airways (THAI) has named Chakkrit Parapuntakul acting president following the sudden departure of his predecessor, Sumeth Damrongchaitham. Read More »
Parapuntakul, who joined the company in January 2020 as second vice chairman, will officially take over as acting president on March 23, THAI said in a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand this week.
In addition to his various company directorships that include Stock Exchange of Thailand listed Siam Commercial Bank PCL and Esso (Thailand) PCL, the 60-year-old is a deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, his biography on the Thai Airways website states.
Damrongchaitham's resignation, announced last week, was accepted at an extraordinary board meeting of directors on March 12. The 54-year-old, who has been president since September 2018, had been working on turning around the Thai flag carrier, which has been mired in losses for the past few years.
The Bangkok Post newspaper reported the THAI board had rejected Damrongchaitham's plans for stemming those losses. Sumeth told the newspaper he decided to step down after "those in power" told him that he was done with his mission.
"We were here on a mission. When those in power say you're finished, so we had to go. And we already know what's going on," Damrongchaitham said in a cryptic comment to the newspaper.
THAI reported a THB12 billion (US$369 million) net loss for the 12 months to December 31 2019, compared with a THB11.6 billion loss in the prior corresponding period.
The newspaper added Damrongchaitham's plan to respond to the coronavirus pandemic was not supported by the government.
Damrongchaitham was one of two high profile aviation executives who exited their positions in the last week. Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat also resigned as general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
