First female CFO appointed at Singapore Airlines

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines announced on Monday (June 12) that it is appointing Ms JoAnn Tan as its Chief Finance Officer (CFO), the first woman to hold the position.

Ms Tan, a graduate of Imperial College in the UK with a Master of Engineering and who has been with Singapore Airlines since 1999, is currently the company’s senior vice president of marketing planning.

Mr Tan Kai Ping, the airline’s current finance head, will take over the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role.

During her stint with Singapore Airlines, Ms Tan worked in the Passenger Marketing and E-Commerce Development departments and has also worked overseas as Manager Northern China and Manager Victoria and Tasmania, but returned to the head office in Singapore in 2006. She has held several senior management positions since then.

More recently, Ms Tan spearheaded Singapore Airlines’ endeavours to “network connectivity and capacity” after borders around the globe opened as the Covid-19 pandemic waned, Reuters quotes the airline as saying.

As for Mr Ping, he “is known for helping strengthen the carrier’s financial resilience and his involvement” in the proposed merger between Air India and Vistara.

Vistara is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, established in 2013, with the Indian conglomerate owning 51 per cent and SIA owning 49 per cent.

The new merger transaction is aimed to be completed by March 2024 upon regulatory approvals including from India’s aviation ministry, central bank, and antitrust watchdog. SIA shall hold a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.

As COO, Mr Ping will oversee the airlines’ cabin crew, flight operations, engineering, and customer services and operations.

Notably, there have been a number of changes to finance heads for major airlines. WestJet appointed Mr Mike Scott, an industry veteran, as its CFO, effective June 13. Mr Scott will also serve as Executive Vice-President for the Canadian carrier.

Moreover, on May 31, the longtime CFO of United Airlines, Mr Gerald Laderman, announced his retirement in 2024. However, he will stay with United until his successor is appointed and is expected to remain Executive Vice Present of Finance for the airline until next year. /TISG

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