The four independent directors of Air India had approved the management’s decision to appoint Pawan Arora as chief operating officer (COO) of Air India Express, according to the minutes of the board meeting available with FE. However, the minutes also reveal that these directors were not made aware of the full disclosure regarding the background and record of Arora.
The independent directors ?Mahindra & Mahindra vice-chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra, Ambuja Realty chairman Harsh Neotia, Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra and former air chief marshal, Fali H Major?had met PM’s principal secretary TKA Nair on Monday to protest against the appointments. Apart from Arora, two senior executives were also appointed to the training and communications department.
The decision was taken despite additional secretary and financial advisor Bharat Bhushan suggesting that Air India should exercise extreme caution in adding to its workforce through new posts.
Aviation minister Praful Patel told FE that the independent directors are scheduled to meet him in a couple of days, when the problems would be looked into. Air India’s director (personnel) had also objected to the appointment, citing the high salary offered.
According to the minutes, Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav responded to Bharat Bhushan’s queries: ?The bio-data of Arora was found very impressive by the panel formed to select the candidate. Besides having Air Force experience, he had logged over 5,000 hours as pilot in command on all versions of B737 aircraft.?
After his appointment, there were reports that Arora had not qualified as flight operations instructor as he reportedly did not fulfill the requirements. There were also charges that he got the appointment letter even before the board approved it.
The board had appointed Kamaljeet Rattan as chief communication officer and Stephen Sukumar as chief of training in National Aviation Company of India.
According to the minutes, Mitra, who also heads Air India’s HR committee, had only suggested that the title of post was of advisory nature and did not involve accountability. Following this, the title was changed to chief communication officer instead of chief communications advisor.
An independent director confirmed to FE that the board did not present sufficient information about the candidates. ?The board noted that these were key posts from the point of view of implementation of the turnaround plan. It deliberated the matter de novo in the light of the position brought out and took decisions including appointment of Pawan Arora, Rattan and Sukumar,? as per the minutes.
Meanwhile, the ministry has asked the management for a clarification on the objections.
AI cancels meet
A meeting of Air India officials in Mumbai on Wednesday was cancelled at the last minute. ?The meeting was cancelled as CMD Arvind Jadhav left for Bangalore from Delhi just before the meeting was scheduled to begin at 3.30 pm,? agencies reported. The full board of AI is likely to meet on November 11.