Avianca chief executive Adrian Neuhauser will leave his job to become CEO of Abra Group, which owns Avianca and Brazil’s Gol, in January.
He will be succeeded as the Colombian airline’s CEO by deputy CEO Frederico Pedreira, Avianca says in disclosing the changes on 28 November.
The shift “will enable the alignment of Abra Group’s expansion strategy with the execution of Avianca’s business plan in Latin America to continue”, the airline says. Neuhauser will remain executive vice-chairman of Avianca’s board.
“I am proud of what our team has achieved at Avianca,” Neuhauser says. “I have full confidence in Fred and his leadership in executing Avianca’s next steps, [and] I look forward to continuing to work with him and the entire team for many years.”
Neuhauser arrived at the Colombian airline in 2019 as chief financial officer and became CEO in April 2021. He led the company through restructuring following the Covid-19 crisis, an effort that shifted Avianca toward a low-cost-carrier model and that included a recent rebranding.
Neuhauser will succeed Constantino de Oliveira Junior as Abra CEO. Junior has led the UK-based holding company since its establishment last year. He also founded Gol Airlines in 2001.
In May 2022, Avianca and Gol agreed to unite under Abra while maintaining individual brands, strategies and teams – a move intended to create long-term stability in the post-coronavirus environment.
At the time, the companies said the transaction would allow them to better compete in international long-haul markets and in cargo markets, and enable them to launch new routes across the hemisphere. The new structure is co-controlled by the principal shareholders of Avianca and the majority shareholder of Gol, and led by Latin American airline veterans.
