Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.’s board is planning to meet Wednesday to vote on appointing long-time manager Ronald Lam as the airline’s new chief executive officer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lam, Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer, is set to succeed current CEO Augustus Tang, the people said, asking not to be identified because the subject is private. The leadership shift is backed by the airline’s biggest shareholder, business group Swire Pacific Ltd., and second-largest Air China Ltd. has expressed its support, according to the people.
Tang moved into the top job when previous chief Rupert Hogg stepped down in 2019, after the airline became entangled in Hong Kong’s anti-China protests. Tang, 63, then went on to steer Cathay through one of its most challenging periods amid the Covid pandemic.
A representative for Cathay declined to comment, while Swire didn’t respond to multiple messages. Air China didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
Lam, 50, has worked at Cathay for 26 years. Should he be ratified as the new CEO, he’ll be tasked with leading the airline through its post-pandemic recovery, amid ongoing restrictions to travel into and out of Hong Kong.
Under Tang, Cathay went through a HK$39 billion (US$5 billion) government-led recapitalization, cut jobs and closed its regional airline Cathay Dragon.
While the carrier’s situation has started to improve as Hong Kong dismantles much of its Covid border regime, the city still requires tests on arrival and limits what travelers can do. The airline also counted mainland China as its biggest market pre-pandemic, a key vulnerability as Beijing persists with its zero-tolerance approach to the virus.
Passenger traffic is still only 16 percent of pre-Covid levels and Cathay has said it won’t return to 100 percent until late 2024 or early 2025.
(Bloomberg)
The Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. headquarters in Hong Kong, China. (Bloomberg)
