British Airways Lining up New CEO

Tim Webb
The Guardian

British Airways has appointed leading headhunter Whitehead Mann to find a possible successor for under-fire boss Willie Walsh. The airline has mandated the firm to fill the position of chief operations officer, newly created in the wake of the Terminal 5 fiasco.

But BA, which is expected to issue a profits warning when it announces full-year results this week, has told Whitehead Mann to recruit someone who could be considered as a candidate to succeed Walsh.

Carol Leonard, a partner at Whitehead Mann, confirmed that BA had appointed the firm in the past three weeks.

‘BA hopes that this person could join the board in one or two years and be considered as a potential successor [to Walsh]. This person has got to prove themselves as a contender to take over.’

She said their first priority was to find a chief operating officer and that any succession would take place in ‘five years plus’. But asked whether this would remain the case if the problems at Terminal 5 continued and the new recruit impressed the BA board, she declined to comment.

In a statement, BA said this weekend:

‘The process of appointing a chief operating officer is ongoing and we are using a variety of ways to find the best candidate. We are looking for a person who has a wide range of operational experience and customer service knowledge. They must be at a very senior level already within their organisation and have proven leadership skills. The person will report directly to Willie Walsh and have in excess of 20,000 people in their department.’

The news that BA is looking for someone to be groomed as a possible successor to Walsh is likely to increase the pressure on the former pilot.

One day after the shambolic opening of Terminal 5, when asked if he would resign, he told a reporter that the ‘buck stops with me’.

Two weeks later BA announced that David Noyes, director of customer service, as well as Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations, were leaving the company. The new chief operations officer will replace them.

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