People
May 13th 2022
Tata Group has named leading Singapore Airlines (SIA) group executive, Campbell Wilson, 50, as CEO of its recently purchased carrier, Air India. Read More » Wilson, CEO of LCC Scoot, will depart SIA on June 16. He joined SIA as a trainee in 1996 and has worked for the airline group in several countries and in a variety of top management roles. Leslie Thng, 47, SIA senior vice president sales and marketing, will succeed Wilson at Scoot. Thng was CEO of India joint venture carrier, Vistara, for more than three years before returning to Singapore in December 2021 to take up his present senior management role. He was SilkAir CEO from August 2012 to May 2016 and then Scoot’s chief commercial officer until he moved to India in October 2017.
Singapore Airlines CEO, Goh Choon Phong, said “while we are sad to lose Campbell, he goes to Air India with our full blessings”.
“It is an honour to be selected to lead the iconic Air India and be a part of the highly respected Tata group,” Wilson said. “Air India is at the cusp of an exciting journey to become one of the best airlines in the world, offering world-class products and services with a distinct customer experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality.” Air India chair, N Chandrasekaran, said the airline will benefit from Wilson's experience of building an airline brand in Asia. Previously, Tata had appointed former Turkish Airlines chairman, Ilker Ayci, as the airline's CEO. Ayci later decided not to accept the role because of “political sensitivities”. In the final quarter of 2021, Tata submitted the winning bid for the purchase of Air India and its associated companies from the Indian government.
