Meet the New Man at the Helm of Ethiopia’s National Carrier

Ethiopian Airlines has announced the appointment of Mesfin Tasew Bekele as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed former CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, who resigned earlier this week due to health reasons. Mr Bekele has nearly four decades worth of cognate experience in airline management and operations. Specifically, he has been with Ethiopian Airlines for 38 years since he joined the company in 1984. Among his areas of expertise are aircraft maintenance, procurement, capacity building, corporate strategic development and corporate leadership amongst others. He is an alumnus of Addis Ababa University, having obtained both a BSc. and an MSc. in Electrical Engineering from the school. He also holds an MBA from the UK’s Open University. Prior to his latest appointment, Mr Bekele has held other key leadership positions. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ethiopian Airlines betwee 2010 and 2021. He was also Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering between 2006 and 2010. Former CEO Tewolde Gebremariam has taken early retirement in order to focus on medical treatment. According to a statement by the flag carrier, Gebremariam has been under medical treatment in the US for the last six months and is unable to oversee “a duty which demands closer presence and full attention round the clock”.

SOURCE: BUSINESS INSIDER