Air Namibia announced that Acting Executive Head, Adv. Mandi Samson, has tendered her resignation in order to pursue other opportunities, with effect 15 March 2019.
“As the Board of directors bids farewell to Adv. Samson, we would like to thank her for her tireless efforts, commitment and dedication in caretaking Namibia’s national carrier. We wish Adv. Samson all the best in her next chapter and future endeavors,” the Namibian airline said in a statement.
The process to recruit a Chief Executive Officer for Air Namibia has commenced and the board is tackling this task as one of their critical priorities in the short-term.
“We recognize that safety, stability and continuity are non-negotiable, in light of the work currently underway to lay the foundations for Air Namibia’s turnaround.”
To this end, the board has decided to appoint an interim CEO at the helm of the business until a suitable CEO has been appointed. The process to identify this interim individual has commenced and Air Namibia will announce this appointment as soon as the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.
This interim appointment will allow incumbent Post Holders to focus on fixing the core operations in their respective posts, as well as enable Exco members to prioritize their efforts to address and improve performance in critical areas such as Finance, Commercial Services and Risk/Legal (including resolving the number of litigation matters in progress).
The newly appointed board of independent directors has spent significant time over the past seven weeks since induction, obtaining a comprehensive and clearer view of the status quo of Air Namibia and is making good progress in holding management accountable to deliver on operational items, as well as moving towards finalizing the strategic direction of the business.
“This is the dawn of a new era for Namibia and its national carrier. We as a team haveagreed that Air Namibia needs to restore its rightful position as a reliable, trusted and loved company in the Namibian economy, and we are committed to contributing towards asustainable and positive direction for the business, that yields tangible results over time,”said Board Chair, Adv Dee Sauls-Deckenbrock.