Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan To Succeed Leslie Thng As CEO

Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan will be appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer, the airline announced on Tuesday. His appointment will be effective from January 1, 2022, it added.

After leading Vistara for more than four years, current Chief Executive Leslie Thng will move on to take up a senior appointment with Singapore Airlines, Vistara further stated.

Mr Kannan joined the airline in June 2019 as Chief Strategy Officer and currently heads amongst others Network Planning, Revenue Management, Marketing, Customer Experience and Cabin Service functions.

He started his career with Singapore Airlines in 2001 and has held various senior positions in the airline. Prior to joining Vistara, he served as Chief Commercial Officer for Scoot the budget airline subsidiary of the Singapore Airlines Group. 

Commenting on the change in leadership, Vistara's Chairman, Bhaskar Bhat, said, "Leslie has led the airline through a significant phase, with the start of international operations and the entry into service of various aircraft including the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Vinod will lead Vistara in its next phase of growth, building on the strong foundation laid by Leslie. This Company continues to benefit from the strong commitment of the two partners Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines to Vistara.”

Vistara is a joint venture of Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA). Tata Sons holds 51% stake in the partnership and Singapore Airlines owns 49% stake. The company is registered as TATA SIA Airlines Limited.

Currently, Vistara connects destinations across India and abroad with a fleet size of 48 aircraft.