Lindegaard steps down
After five years at the helm of the SAS Group, chief executive Jørgen Lindegaard is to step down later this year. He joined the group in 2001, just before the 9/11 attacks sent the aviation industry into freefall.
During his tenure at SAS Lindegaard was responsible for a sweeping reorganisation involving the splitting of Scandinavian Airlines into national divisions and the integration of former Norwegian operation Braathens into SAS Group.
He also fought to push through tough restructuring changes despite strong opposition and industrial action from unions that led to waves of flight delays and cancellations.
Commenting on his resignation, Lindegaard says: “The time is right for a new chief executive to take over.” Although he has not yet revealed his future plans, he says he is “looking for a further challenge”.
As the architect of the SAS group’s Turnaround 2005 programme he was charged with reversing heavy losses in the face of strong competition, particularly from low-cost carriers. The three-year programme aimed to save a total of SKr14 billion ($1.9 billion) over the period.
Egil Myklebust, chairman of SAS Group, says: “Jørgen has made an outstanding contribution to our company. It is no exaggeration to say that he has had one of the most difficult chief executive positions in Scandinavia. He has laid a stable foundation for the transformation with which we need to proceed.”
Lindegaard has a six-month notice period and SAS has started the recruitment process to find his successor. The carrier says it will be a “completely open process and there are no preconceived ideas of whether it will be an internal or external appointment”.
Source: Airline Business
