Frasquilho out in TAP reshuffle
Portuguese airlineTAP has a new chairman and it is not Miguel Frasquilho as had been expected.
According to ECO online the new chairman of the board will be Manuel Beja (pictured) who has a wide experience in information technology and knows the Brazilian market well. Beja’s appointment is expected to be made formal at a general assembly meeting on 24 June.
The appointment has caught pundits by surprise because it was widely thought that Frasquilho who has managed the airline’s restructuring programme was expected have his term renewed by the government.
Officially, the government has not confirmed the change and Miguel Frasquilho has not issued any statements, but it has been found out that that Beja who was managing director of Novabase Brazil between Marc 2002 and March 2005 is the chosen candidate.
Frasquilho is said to have only been informed on Tuesday with the prime minister, António Costa deciding to change the entire board of administration.
TAP’s new management will have 11 directors, six men and four women including the new CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener. These will include Ramiro Sequeira, currently interim CEO who will become chief operations officer (COO). João Weber Gameiro is the new financial director.
The government has also chosen a former secretary of state for industry, Ana Lehman to the board. Silva Rodrigues who headed bus company Carris will have a non-executive role representing one of the airline’s private shareholders Pedrosa. João Duarte will represent the employees.
At present, the airline is awaiting a decision from the European Commission on TAP’s restructuring plan on the injection of €3.75Bn of public money into TAP by 2024 and a reduction in the number of employees, routes and planes.
If the new board is accepted by the 24 June, the new management team will have its term defined, particularly on a question that has yet to be clarified. The number of slots at Lisbon airport which may or may not limit the airline’s capacity to recover and meet the plan that has already been announced for the US and Brazilian markets.
Among the other names on the board are Alexandra Reis, Chief Corporate Officer, Sílvia Mosquera, Chief Commercial Officer and non-executive board members Patrício Ramos, Gonçalo Pires, Silva Rodrigues and João Duarte.