2013-01-07 — /travelprnews.com/ — As of 7th January 2013, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, 56, will take over the post of Chief Executive Officer of Air Berlin PLC from Hartmut Mehdorn, who has been in the position on a transitional basis since 1st September 2011. At the same time Prock-Schauer will become an Executive Director on the Board of Directors of Air Berlin PLC. Hartmut Mehdorn will remain a member of the Board.
During his time in office, Hartmut Mehdorn was largely responsible for establishing and successfully implementing the partnership between airberlin and Etihad Airways; for leading the airline into the oneworld® airline alliance; and for laying new foundations for the company through strategic measures aimed at organisational realignment and increased efficiency. Together with the management team he developed and set in motion the “Turbine” Turnaround Program as well as the efficiency-improvement program “Shape & Size”.
Dr Hans-Joachim Körber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Berlin PLC, paid tribute to Mr Mehdorn and thanked him for his outstanding contribution over the last 15 months. “In the face of the crisis in European aviation, he has set the company on a new path, to make it more competitive in line with market conditions and has laid key foundations for the future,” Dr Körber said. “With Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, the top position at airberlin will be taken over by a respected expert in the airline industry, who has extensive experience in international management. He will continue to promote the process of change and, as CEO, take responsibility from the start for the planned two-year “Turbine” Turnaround Program and press ahead with the decisive reorganisation of the company.”
Hartmut Mehdorn said: “This is the right time for the change in management and it sends the right signal that Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, as the new CEO, is leading the Turnaround Program which is so vital for the company. airberlin has already achieved a great deal over the past year. I am confident that all our employees will make the turnaround a success through their extraordinary dedication. I wish Mr Prock-Schauer every success in his new post, one which always gave me a great deal of satisfaction with the enormous challenges it involves.”
Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said: “airberlin is facing huge challenges. We must continue to push our process of change forward rapidly to become lean and smart, so that we can be successful in the global competitive environment. Together with my colleagues on the Board of Directors, the Management Board, and the employees of airberlin we will put all our effort into this task.”
Until now Prock-Schauer has held the post of Chief Strategy and Planning Officer (CSPO) on the Management Board of airberlin, and he will continue in this role until further notice. After graduating in Business Administration from Vienna University he started his professional career in 1981 with Austrian Airlines, where, as Executive Vice President, his responsibilities included network management, strategic planning and alliances, as well as the integration of regional airlines Lauda Air and Tyrolean. In 2003 he moved to India as CEO of Jet Airways. In 2005 he successfully led Jet Airways to become a registered company on the stock exchange and expanded the company’s long-haul business and global network with other airlines. From 2009 to 2012 Wolfgang Prock-Schauer was CEO of British Midland International, where he introduced numerous productivity improvements. Prock-Schauer is married and has three children.
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