Vinod Kannan appointed new Chief Executive Officer of Vistara

Vonod Kannan, who joined Vistara in June 2019 as chief strategy officer, headed crucial functions at the airlines that include network planning, revenue management, marketing, customer experience, and cabin service functions.

Vistara, India’s full-service carrier, on January 1 announced the appointment of Vinod Kannan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

This joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, on September 14, last year said that the airline's chief commercial officer (CCO) Vinod Kannan will replace Leslie Thng as the chief executive officer from January 1, 2022.

Leslie Thng, who led Vistara for more than four years, is moving on to take up a senior appointment with Singapore Airlines, the airline added in a statement. Following this change, Deepak Rajawat was appointed as the company's new CCO.

Kannan, who joined Vistara in June 2019 as chief strategy officer, headed crucial functions at the airlines that include network planning, revenue management, marketing, customer experience, and cabin service functions.

Prior to joining Vistara, Kannan had held various senior positions at Singapore Airlines Group, including that of the CCO at Scoot, the no-frill offering of Singapore Airlines, apart from handling global network planning for the airline conglomerate.

Bhaskar Bhat, Vistara's Chairman, in a statement said that Kannan would lead Vistara in its next phase of growth, building on the strong foundation laid by the former CEO Thng.

New CEO, Vinod Kannan now has to face his first and a mammoth challenge of steering the airline towards growth and profitability due to the instability in the aviation sector induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.