Airline veteran Mandy Ng has been appointed CEO of HK Express, taking over from Ronald Lam who has returned to the parent Cathay Pacific Airways amid a major management shuffle at Hong Kong’s flagship carrier.
Lam is now Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer, the airline’s joint second-in-command. He was HK Express CEO for about a month, but will now take on the chairman’s role at the budget carrier.
Ng will become the first woman to lead a local airline, according to a South China Morning Post report, which added that all three Cathay Pacific-run airlines are currently headed by Chinese nationals: Cathay Pacific is helmed by Augustus Tang, while Algernon Yau leads sister carrier Cathay Dragon.
According to a statement, Ng has been with Cathay Pacific for 17 years and has since held a variety of positions involving planning, revenue and sales in Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia. She was previously part of a team overseeing the integration of HK Express after its acquisition by Cathay Pacific.
Prior to joining HK Express, Ng was general manager business development at Swire Pacific, a position she held since July 2018. Prior to that, she was the director and general manager of Akzonobel Swire Paints Hong Kong, in charge of the joint venture between Swire and Akzonobel that manufactures and distributes decorative paints in mainland China and Hong Kong, primarily under the Dulux brand.
