Air India was privatized several years ago, in hopes of returning to its glory days, in terms of both customer service and profitability. Campbell Wilson was tapped as CEO when the airline was privatized, and while he has some accomplishments to show for his tenure, things are still very far from perfect, especially on the profitability front (which is a nightmare).
In April 2026, we learned how Wilson would be resigning from his role as CEO, and the company worked on finding a replacement. Well, his replacement has just been revealed, and it’ll be Tewolde Gebremariam, the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
Tewolde Gebremariam becomes new Air India CEO
The Air India Board of Directors has just announced that 61-year-old Tewolde Gebremariam will become Air India’s new CEO. The company claims that the Board conducted a comprehensive search to identify the next leader, rigorously evaluating both internal and external candidates from across the globe.
The objective was to “identify a leader with a proven record of managing mega-scale airline turnarounds, delivering operational excellence, fostering a strong culture of safety and service, and driving profitable expansion.”
The board concluded that Gebremariam was the right man for the job, as he “possesses the ideal combination of leadership, deep operational expertise, and strategic execution capability required for Air India’s next phase of growth.”
Gebremariam spent over a decade as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, where he “spearheaded a multi-billion-dollar expansion, transforming a regional carrier into Africa’s largest, most profitable, and decorated airline group—growing revenue by more than fourfold and fleet size nearly threefold.”
I think this part of the announcement is pretty important, in terms of understanding the mandate that he is being given:
As Air India shifts from its foundational turnaround phase into a high growth & profitable execution phase, Mr. Gebremariam brings crucial capabilities required for Air India’s next leg of journey. He has strong experience in expanding international long-haul networks and building world-class hub operations, an unrelenting commitment to safety standards, engineering quality, and operational reliability. He also has a track record of driving sustained profitability, while navigating complex economic cycles and dynamic global markets together with a deep experience in workforce upskilling, talent development, and embedding a high-performance, customer-first service culture.
Here’s what Gebremariam had to say about his new role:
“It is a profound honour to be entrusted with leading Air India at such a historic moment in its journey. Air India carries an incredible legacy, and the opportunity to build a world-class global airline that reflects India’s extraordinary economic potential is uniquely exciting. I look forward to working closely with Chairman Chandrasekaran, the Board, our employees, and all government and industry partners to deliver exceptional operational reliability, warm Indian hospitality, and sustained long-term growth.”
My take on Air India tapping former Ethiopian Airlines CEO
On the surface, I’m impressed by the pick of Gebremariam as the new Air India CEO. He built Ethiopian Airlines into an unrivaled powerhouse in Africa, a continent where profitable, global airlines have long struggled. I have nothing but good things to say about his tenure there.
Given the strategic goals of Air India, I find this to be a pretty well aligned appointment, because perhaps Air India is in a similar position to what Ethiopian Airlines was in at the time, seeking profitable growth.
Now, a couple of things do come to mind. First of all, I find it interesting how Air India has now tapped ex-pats for the CEO position back-to-back. I don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with that, but in terms of employee morale, I can’t help but wonder what impact that has. Air India is very much leaning into its cultural identity in terms of the passenger experience, yet the airline can’t find the most qualified candidate in a country of nearly 1.5 billion people?
Next, I think the mandate with this appointment is clear. I recently covered how Air India is shifting from growth mode to cost cutting mode, as the company has seen way bigger losses than planned. Financially, this transformation has been as bad as it possibly could’ve been, including due to many factors outside of the carrier’s control (the crash of AI171, high oil prices, airspace closures, etc.).
I can’t help but wonder if under Gebremariam’s leadership, we might see a bit less of a focus on passenger experience. After all, Ethiopian Airlines was run as a very disciplined carrier, but product consistency wasn’t necessarily ever a priority. I mean, the airline has a shocking number of different kinds of business class seats, with little effort put into streamlining things. So I hope we don’t see a similar reality at Air India, given the current mess that is the state of Air India’s fleet.
Bottom line
Tewolde Gebremariam will become the new CEO of Air India, replacing Campbell Wilson. Gebremariam is the former longtime CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, where he did a stellar job.
In many ways, the challenges Air India faces are similar to those that Ethiopian Airlines faced at the time, as they had to figure out how to grow an airline in a profitable way. I do think there are also many differences between the two airlines, including the competitive landscape, the expectations of product quality, etc.
I wish Gebremariam all the best in his new role, as he sure has his work cut out for him.
What do you make of Air India’s new CEO pick?
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