Kenya Airways names Allan Kilavuka as new acting CEO

Kenya Airways named Allan Kilavuka as the new acting Chief Executive Officer on Monday.

This after Sebastian Mickosz announced his resignation in May.

According to Business Daily, Allan Kilavuka new CEO role will be effective January 1, 2020.

He will take up the role until a substantive replacement is found.

Reuters reports that Allan Kilavuka has been Jambojet CEO for about a year and will continue with this role as well as the new Kenya Airways post.

“The nationalization process is still ongoing and the airline can’t be left with a leadership vacuum. Kilavuka is definitely experienced on the operations of (Kenya Airways),” said Lisa Kimathi, an investment analyst at Standard Investment Bank.

Kilavuka has led the five-year-old low-cost carrier Jambojet since January 2019.

Before that, he was General Electric’s global operation leader for sub-Saharan Africa.

Kenya Airways was privatized more than 20 years ago but sank into debt and losses in 2014 after a failed expansion drive.

After leading the airline for two years, Mikosz said in May that he would leave by the end of the year for personal reasons.

Kenya Airways sank into debt and losses in 2014 after a failed expansion drive, among other factors.