IndiGo CEO calms employee fears but does not debunk Bhatia, Gangwal fallout news

Amid reports of a fallout between IndiGo promoters Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, CEO Ronojoy Dutta wrote to the airline’s employees trying to assuage any concerns or uncertainties but did not breathe a word debunking the alleged fallout. IndiGo’s growth strategy is in place and the management is fully charged by the Board to implement it, Ronojoy Dutta said in the email to employees, according to a PTI report. He said that the airline is aware of the media reports circulating which have alleged that an argument has erupted between the promoters. According to The Indian Express sources, the divide is over management control issues and appointment of key executives. However, the Ronojoy Dutta’s mail neither confirms nor denies it.

Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, who co-founded the company in 2006, have approached separate law firms to settle their discord, The Indian Express reported earlier in the day, citing sources. The same sources also said that the tensions have been mounting between the duo ever since IndiGo’s former CEO Aditya Ghosh called it quits in 2018.

Also Read: IndiGo’s internal divide: Promoters Bhatia, Gangwal clash over airline’s control

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Along with this, there was a major event at the hands of Rakesh Gangwal who handpicked employees from his former employer United Airlines. The CEO post was taken by Ronojoy Dutta and CFO position by Rohit Philip; key management positions in the hands of former United Airlines employees while IndiGo had shortlisted Gregory Taylor for the CEO position. Meanwhile, this was not the end of hiring expatriates. Along with Dutta and Philip, the airline hired Wolfgang Prock-Schauer as CFO, Willy Boulter as CSO, Michael Swiatek as CPO and Jason Herter as vice-president, operations control centre and dispatch.

Gangwal and Bhatia together held a 99% stake in the airline at the time of its listing in 2013. As of March 2019, Rahul Bhatia holds a 38% stake in the parent company of IndiGo — Interglobe Aviation — and Gangwal has a 37% share in the company. Now, InterGlobe Aviation owns and manages it. IndiGo holds a majority 47% share in the Indian aviation industry in terms of passengers carried.