Cathay CEO and chief customer & commercial officer resign

Cathay Pacific’s chief executive officer, Rupert Hogg, and chief customer and commercial officer, Paul Loo, have both resigned on the back of the airline’s involvement in recent events in Hong Kong. Augustus Tang has been appointed the new CEO while Ronald Lam will be the new chief customer and commercial officer, effective from next Monday.

John Slosar, chairman of Cathay Pacific, said that “recent events have called into question Cathay Pacific’s commitment to flight safety and security,” alluding to the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s (CAAC) warning and requirements issued to Cathay last Friday, after ground staff leaked travel details of a police soccer team and a pilot was charged with rioting. “This is regrettable as we have always made safety and security our highest priority,” said Slosar. “We therefore think it is time to put a new management team in place who can reset confidence and lead the airline to new heights.”

According to Cathay, Tang is currently group chief executive officer of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (HAECO) and director of John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd. Lam, appointed CEO of Hong Kong Express just last month, was previously Cathay’s director of commercial and cargo.

“Augustus Tang and Ronald Lam have the experience and depth of knowledge of aviation and our people to be strong and effective leaders of Cathay Pacific at this sensitive time,” Slosar said. “Hong Kong is a fantastic home for our airline. It is a world-class city and has a premium airport which is the biggest international passenger and cargo hub in Asia.”

Hogg was appointed CEO of Cathay Pacific in May 2017. Prior to that, he was the director of cargo from September 2008 to August 2010, when he was appointed director of sales and marketing. He then became chief operating officer in March 2014.

“It has been my honor to lead the Cathay Pacific Group over the last three years,” Hogg said. “I am confident in the future of Hong Kong as the key aviation hub in Asia. However, these have been challenging weeks for the airline and it is right that Paul and I take responsibility as leaders of the company.”

This Wednesday, Cathay released a statement confirming that two pilots had been “terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions of their employment contracts.” One misused company information on Aug. 12 while flying from Manchester (MAN) to Hong Kong (HKG), while the other is the one who was charged with rioting and is currently involved in legal proceedings. The two ground employees who leaked information have also been terminated.