(eTN) – Fastjet PLC yesterday announced the appointment of Mr. Richard Bodin, presently serving the airline as Chief Commercial Officer, to the Board of Directors.
In his role as Chief Commercial Officer Richard has been instrumental in the development of the company, in particular in developing the marketing and commercial strategy to successfully introduce the low cost airline business model in Tanzania. Following the completion of his MBA, at Bradford University Management Centre, in 1996 he joined easyJet airline Ltd. as contracts manager, progressing in 2001 to the travel insurance business of AIG (Europe) Ltd. He subsequently re-entered the airline industry as Business Director of Jet2.com Ltd. in 2004 and Managing Director of Jet2Holidays. Richard further held positions with Virgin Holidays as a Director, joining in 2010, and Low Cost Travel Group Limited as Director of Strategic Relationships, joining in 2011.
The appointment of Richard Bodin, who joined the airline in mid 2012 after previously consulting for Fastjet, is seen as an affirmation of the progress made by Fastjet in Tanzania, from where the airline now serves two international destinations, Johannesburg and Lusaka – the latter in codeshare with Zambia’s ProFlight – besides flying from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Mbeya. The airline is also at an advanced stage of setting up an operation in Zambia while suspending operations in Ghana, where it is expected to return after a full restructuring of the former Fly540 hybrid model to the Fastjet low cost model has been accomplished. Also joining the board are Krista Bates as General Counsel of the airline group and Clive Carver, the latter as non-executive director.
While no immediate comment was available from Richard did the interim chairman of the company, Ed Winter, issue the following statement: ‘These appointments add strength to Fastjet’s Board as we continue our expansion beyond Tanzania. I am very pleased to welcome Richard Bodin to the Board. Richard was a part of the team that developed the original Fastjet business plan, and as Chief Commercial Officer he has played a vital role working alongside me to prove the low cost model can be successful in Africa. I have no doubt his input will be invaluable at Board level. I am also delighted to be announcing the appointment of Krista Bates as Group General Counsel and member of the Board. Krista has been providing legal services to Fastjet for the past 20 months through her role as a corporate consultant at a leading Nairobi law firm. Her appointment deepens Fastjet’s legal and strategic capabilities across Africa and the UK as we expand our operations and continue to develop strategies against Africa’s complex legal and political background. Having Krista as a part of the team will be a huge advantage, given her wealth of experience and knowledge gained in both England and Africa. I am very pleased to be adding another dimension to the Board with Clive’s appointment. Clive adds essential and extensive city experience to the Board as we move forward in this next phase of our development. His experience and reputation, gained working in Corporate finance both with Merchant banks and broker Finncap and his position as a Board member on a range of companies will be a real asset to our Board’.
Ed Winter concluded his announcement by adding that Fastjet will announce the recruitment of a non-executive Chairman in due course, once again separating the office of chairman of the board from the position of CEO.
