Contenders for Air New Zealand's top job

From left: Rob Fyfe, Norm Thompson and Craig Sinclair

Air New Zealand has yet to say when a replacement for departing chief executive and managing director Ralph Norris will be made, but airline watchers are finalising their picks for a successor.

The announcement of the airline's annual financial results next Monday is being seen as the ideal time to introduce a new chief executive.

Rob Fyfe is widely viewed as the favoured internal candidate to take over from Norris, who leaves to head the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at the end of this month.

Another possible candidate is Craig Sinclair, group general manager, ventures. Fyfe and Sinclair were appointed to Air New Zealand at around the same time, with Fyfe being promoted in October 2003 to a clear second-in-command position of group general manager, airlines.

A former executive at National Australia Bank, Bank of New Zealand and Telecom, Fyfe was in charge of the team that spent the past few months analysing every facet of the Air New Zealand business, looking for ways to cut costs.

Norris was asked by NZPA last year about a possible successor and indicated the board should look for his replacement within the airline.

"I have no successor at this point. There are likely successors - they are all sitting around the table here," he said.

Whether the board takes his advice and settles on an insider for the job still remains to be seen. Industry talk about possible outsiders tends to settle around expat New Zealanders who have done well in the airline industry.

Norris too, though, had no executive experience in airlines but had been on the Air New Zealand board of directors before his appointment.

One of the factors that could weigh against Sinclair snaring the top job is the political baggage he carries from bruising encounters with politicians and the media during his time as the head of the state- owned Airways corporation.

In late 1990s, Airways was often touted as a candidate for privatisation and became deeply involved in chasing potentially lucrative overseas contracts for air traffic control privatisations.

Winston Peters spearheaded a campaign in 2000 against Sinclair and former Airways executives, alleging insider trading and saying they stood to personally reap millions of dollars if a joint bid with Lockheed Martin to run the UK air traffic control system went ahead.

Peters claimed that Sinclair, Airways chairman John Maasland and two other executives were set to gain $30 million from the deal. However, Airways and Lockheed Martin did not win the UK contract.

While all were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Auditor-General, there was political fall-out from the episode, with then State-owned Enterprises Minister Mark Burton publicly questioned about the amount of time Sinclair had spent overseas. The company was also criticised for not informing him about troubles with one of its executives.

While Sinclair was totally vindicated, the political hassle caused to the Government may work against him when trying for the top job at Air New Zealand, which is, after all, 80 per cent owned by the taxpayer.

Norris has praised the Government as a shareholder, saying it does not meddle or interfere. But the board of directors, which will sign off on any new chief executive, have all been approved by the Government.

Another internal appointment possibility is sales and marketing boss Norm Thompson, who has worked at Air New Zealand since the late 1960s.

His marketing efforts have been widely applauded, particularly in being able to keep its increasingly dated long-haul product attractive in the face of stiff competition.

Older 767 aircraft are now being replaced and the fleet of eight Boeing 747-400s are being refitted with new seats and inflight entertainment systems.

If the Air New Zealand board look outside the airline for a new chief executive, then the names of two ex-pat airline executives may arise.

One name that often pops up in any discussions about a successor for Norris is that of Ray Webster, former long-time Air New Zealand staffer and, for the past nine years, chief executive of the popular UK budget airline easyJet.

When stepping down from that job in May, Webster cited family reasons as behind his decision to retire from the budget airline.

Webster, 58, later said that his time at easyJet had been the highlight of his career but that it had come at a heavy personal cost. His retirement had come about so he could spend more time with his family after the death of his parents.

Webster said he and his Parisian wife would continue to be based in London, where he hoped to build up a portfolio of consultancy jobs. But easyJet "would be his last fulltime executive role", so he could also spend more time in Australasia.

That alone would seem to discount him from the demanding job as Air New Zealand chief executive. However, he has kept up a close relationship with his former employers, acting as a consultant.

Another expat Kiwi airline success story mentioned around the traps is Gary Chapman, the president of Dnata, the ground-handling and travel agent business of Dubai airline Emirates.

It is now one of the largest travel organisations in the Middle East, employing more than 6200 people.

THE MAIN CONTENDERS

Rob Fyfe
* Group general manager airlines

RNZAF, 1979-87. His career included being appointed flight commander, responsible for all engineering and logistics, in No 75 Fighter Squadron.

He held the rank of flight lieutenant when he left to pursue his commercial career. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) Hons degree from Canterbury University.

Before joining Air New Zealand, Fyfe held a range of senior management positions within New Zealand and overseas, including roles with the National Australia Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Telecom and ITV Group.

Norm Thompson
* Group general manager networks, marketing and sales

Thompson joined Air New Zealand's finance division in 1968. He had various roles in sales before being made regional general manager New Zealand and Pacific Islands in 1989. From 1991 to 1992, he was general manager national airline before going to Los Angeles as regional general manager Americas.

Thompson returned to New Zealand in 1997 to become regional director NZ, Australia and the Pacific Islands, then vice-president Australian sales for Ansett Australia. From there, he rose to senior vice-president sales and distribution/regional airlines and cargo. He took up his present position in November 2003.

Craig Sinclair
* Group general manager ventures

Sinclair graduated in law from Victoria University in Wellington and began his career with Databank Systems as its legal officer. He undertook various legal and management roles involved in banking deregulation, technology acquisitions and stakeholder relations.

In 1989 he moved to Airways Corporation of NZ where he assumed responsibility for the commercial activities of the company. In 1996, Sinclair was appointed Airways CEO. He joined Air New Zealand in 2002 and his present role puts him in charge of engineering services, airport services and Freedom Air.