ED WINTER STEPS DOWN AS CEO OF FASTJET
(Posted 13th January 2016)
Hot on the heels of Fastjet Tanzania adding three new routes over the past two days, flights from Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro to Nairobi on the 11th of January and flights from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar yesterday, are news emerging from London that the airline’s CEO Ed Winter has announced his resignation from the company.
Ed has for the past four years and after a somewhat turbulent start for Fastjet seen the company expand in leaps and bounds, today operating in Tanzania and Zimbabwe and serving 11 destinations out of Dar es Salaam and presently one out of Harare. Fastjet Tanzania today flies to 6 African countries, South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya and serves four domestic destinations in Tanzania our of Dar es Salaam, namely Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Mbeya and now also Zanzibar.
The processes of attaining an Air Operator Certificate in both Zambia – reportedly now at a very advanced stage – and in Kenya are ongoing and additional destinations for Fastjet Zimbabwe and Fastjet Tanzania are expected to be announced in due course.
With such successes under the belt, and inspite of continued red ink on the bottom of the Fastjet PLC’s balance sheets, can Ed look back at a successful term of office. He also served as Acting Chairman of the Board before handing this function over to Clive Carver in April 2015 who also served in an Acting capacity. Eventually was Colin Child appointed in September last year as successor of founder chairman David Lenigas who paid the price for his blue eyed relationship with erstwhile partner and later to become an expensive thorn in the side Fly540 in June 2013.
Said Colin when breaking the news just a short while ago in London: ‘Over the past four years, Ed has made significant and sustained progress towards Fastjet’s goal of becoming Africa’s first true low cost Pan-African airline. Despite being confronted with numerous challenges, Ed has succeeded in successfully opening hubs in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, providing multiple domestic services, and has won international rights to fly from Tanzania to South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Malawi. Recent approval to operate flights to and within Kenya is also a major step forward in growing the airline’s route network. The Board is enormously grateful to Ed for his leadership and expertise in launching Fastjet and the pivotal role he has played in Fastjet’s development. He leaves with our very best wishes’.
Ed Winter in turn responded: ‘I feel privileged to have had this unique and exciting opportunity to lead an incredible team in changing the face of African aviation. I am particularly pleased to have achieved the very significant launch of flights to Kenya this week, a milestone that I believe signals a major change in Fastjet’s ability to grow. We have built a great platform from which the Company can achieve its vision of being the first significant Pan-African low cost airline. Following four intensive years of work and overseas travel, I am looking forward to spending more time on my other personal and professional interests. Once the handover process is complete, I look forward to watching Fastjet’s continued progress’.
No successor has been announced at this stage and it is understood that the company has retained the service of a renowned headhunting firm to recruit a new CEO. Ed Winter will stay on until this process has been completed and he was able to formally hand over to the incoming CEO but, according to sources also remain available on a consulting basis for the UK based airline company and its franchise operations in Africa.
