Peter Bellew (pictured) will replace Christoph Mueller as group managing director and CEO
CHIEF operating officer at Malaysia Airlines, Peter Bellew has been appointed the new group managing director and CEO effective today (July 1).
He will replace the current group managing director and CEO, Christoph Mueller, who is serving his notice period until September 9 following his resignation on March 10. Mueller will remain available to the company until the end of his notice period to help ensure a smooth leadership transition.
The leadership changes have been approved by Khazanah Nasional, the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement: “Bellew’s appointment follows a comprehensive search for a new CEO conducted by Khazanah and the Malaysia Airlines board. The process, which commenced in April 2016, involved internal and external, as well as local and foreign candidates.”
Bellew has been a member of Malaysia Airlines’ senior management team since the first day of its full operations on 1 September 2015.
The statement read: “His appointment will ensure continuity in the execution of the Malaysia Airlines’ turnaround plan and further progress of the overall restructuring effort, as set out by Khazanah in its 12-point MAS Recovery Plan. It also allows for an accelerated and seamless leadership transition from Mueller.”
An Irish national, Bellew has over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry. He joined Malaysia Airlines from Ryanair, where he served in various roles with increasing responsibility since 2006, leaving the airline as the director of flight operations responsible for 72 bases operating a total of 320 aircraft. In this role, he ensured cost-effective operations and punctuality at more than 150 airports in over 30 countries, created a training organisation for 600 new Boeing pilots, built employee representative council structures in 19 countries, opened 61 new overseas bases, and introduced new technologies to reduce costs across the airline.
