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RIO DE JANEIRO—The IATA Board of Governors will not select a new Director General during the current annual general meeting.
The oversight body plans to review recommendations for who should be the association’s next Director General before the end of June, Chairman Luis Gallego said at the event in Rio de Janeiro June 7.
“I am happy to have a list of strong candidates,” Gallego said. A subcommittee of the board has been put in charge of the selection process and is currently conducting interviews with candidates. Recommendations to the board are to be made before the end of the month, “if everything goes according to plan.”
The search has become necessary after the current Director General, Willie Walsh, decided to resign from his position to become CEO of IndiGo in August. Walsh’s term would have ended in 2027; his move means that IATA must find a new leader a year earlier than anticipated.
According to industry sources, the list includes candidates from inside and outside of aviation. The last several IATA leaders have previously been airline CEOs.
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