Here’s a plot twist nobody saw coming: Air India’s incoming chief executive was, until very recently, weeks away from running Pakistan’s national carrier instead.
Tewolde Gebremariam, the former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief who has just been named CEO and Managing Director of Air India, had earlier emerged as the frontrunner to take charge of Pakistan International Airlines. PIA was reportedly holding off on a formal announcement while it worked through mandatory security clearances — and then the Tata Group swooped in and locked him down for Air India instead.
PIA Was Ready to Name Him — Almost
Back in July, reports suggested PIA had zeroed in on Gebremariam to lead its turnaround following the airline’s privatisation, which put its management in the hands of a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group. Bloomberg reported he’d been shortlisted for the role, and Arab News, citing unnamed sources, said the airline was simply waiting on clearances before making it official.
A senior PIA official told Arab News the airline “would not announce his name until all the security clearances are completed,” while a major shareholder called Tewolde “a very capable person” who “has done a lot of turnarounds.” The idea was for him to steer PIA’s revival through fleet modernisation, network expansion, and operational reform once the paperwork cleared. Some reports since have added a wrinkle to that account, suggesting he was seen as the preferred candidate but was never formally approached about the job either way, PIA never got the chance to make its announcement.
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Air India Got There First
Instead, Air India moved quickly and named him CEO and Managing Director after what the airline described as a global search for someone with a track record in large-scale airline transformation, operational excellence, safety management, and profitable growth. Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran didn’t hold back on the praise, saying Tewolde’s history of “building one of the world’s most efficient and profitable airline groups” made him the right fit to lead Air India forward, and pointed to his operational expertise and hub-building experience as exactly what the airline needs heading into its next growth phase under the Tata Group.
Who Is Tewolde Gebremariam?
Tewolde ran Ethiopian Airlines Group from 2011 until he stepped down in March 2022. Under his leadership, the airline grew into Africa’s largest, expanding its fleet, its international network, and its maintenance operations, while turning Addis Ababa into one of the continent’s leading aviation hubs. He also steered the airline through some genuinely difficult stretches — the aftermath of the 2019 Flight 302 crash and the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic — and came out the other side with a reputation for crisis management that followed him into this new role. He left Ethiopian Airlines in 2022 citing health reasons, closing out nearly four decades with the company.
Taking on the Air India role, Tewolde called it “a profound honour” to lead the airline at what he described as a historic point in its transformation, adding that he’s looking forward to delivering “exceptional operational reliability, warm Indian hospitality, and sustained long-term growth.”
Air India framed the leadership change as a shift out of its stabilisation phase and into a new chapter built around profitability, global expansion, a better passenger experience, and stronger international connectivity. The airline also thanked outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson, who oversaw fleet modernisation, merger integration, and governance reforms during his tenure, and who steps down on September 30 after leading Air India since the Tata Group’s 2022 acquisition.