IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh quits, airline appoints Rahul Bhatia as interim CEO

In a surprise announcement, country's largest domestic carrier IndiGo on Friday said Aditya Ghosh would step down as its President and Whole Time Director. The company, after its board meeting, said promoter Rahul Bhatia would become the interim chief executive officer (CEO). According to a regulatory filing, the company's board has accepted Ghosh's resignation, but it didn't mention any reason behind the sudden decision. A letter from Bhatia, however, said Ghosh "wishes to start his own venture".

According to ET, Bhatia, in an e-mail to its employees, said: "Firstly, and with mixed emotions, I wish to inform you that Aditya Ghosh is resigning and will leave the Company on July 31. Aditya wishes to start a new business venture and we respect his decision to do so."

The board of directors of the company, during its meeting held on Friday, took a decision to appoint Rahul Bhatia as the interim CEO, the filing said, adding that he would also continue as a director of the company.

The board has accepted the resignation of Aditya Ghosh from the post of President effective July 31, 2018, and as the Director with effect from April 26, 2018. The airline said it respected Ghosh's decision.

Ghosh said his 10-year stint with the company was "the most satisfying task". "It is now time for me to step off the treadmill and sometime in the near future embark on my next adventure. I wish all my colleagues at IndiGo the very best as they move on to the next phase of growth," he said, reported PTI.

The airline has also decided to appoint Greg Taylor as its senior advisor, who would also be considered for the position of President and CEO. With over 40 years of experience in several airlines across the world, Greg was serving as the Executive Vice President of the company's Revenue Management and Network Planning.

"In the coming months, the Board will consider the appointment of Greg as President and CEO of the company, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals and paperwork," InterGlobe said in a statement.

Greg had served in various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways in the areas of corporate planning, strategy, network planning, fleet planning, finance, cost management and airline express operations, the statement said.

IndiGo has a market share of around 40 per cent in the Indian domestic market, and has a fleet of 161 aircraft. The airline operates flights connecting 50 destinations, including 42 domestic and eight international.