Monarch chairman to leave in management shake-up
Monarch Group chairman Iain Rawlinson is to leave the company as part of a shake-up of the senior management team.
Sir Roy McNulty, currently a non-executive director, will take on the role of non-executive chairman, while Andrew Swaffield, who joined from Avios as managing director of Monarch Airlines in April, has been promoted to group chief executive.
The pair will jointly assume Rawlinson’s responsibilities. Andrew Lavery has been appointed chief financial officer.
McNulty, who is also chairman of Gatwick Airport, said: "On behalf of the Mantegazza family, the group’s principal shareholder, I would like to thank Iain for his five years of service to Monarch where he has strengthened the group and repositioned Monarch Airlines as a differentiated scheduled low-cost carrier with a focus on superior customer service. He leaves with our best wishes."
Rawlinson, who had been chairman for five years, said: ""The Monarch Group has reached another chapter in its development and the time is now right for me to stand back. There could be no two better people than Sir Roy and Andrew Swaffield, both with exceptional careers in the aviation and transport industries, to take Monarch forward and build on the excellent Monarch name and reputation."
Swaffield, who prior to joining Avios had worked for both Thomas Cook and British Airways, said: "This is a challenging time for airlines and we have much to do. Monarch has outstanding people, a strongly differentiated position in the budget airline market and an excellent travel group and engineering business."
Swaffield confirmed the Group was talking to the Mantegazza family about its capital structure with regard to its future growth following speculation in the press that the Group was looking for a cash injection.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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