CEO SHUFFLE Tourism Veteran joins the Flight of Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, Australia’s second largest airlines, has a new man behind the airplane’s yoke. Paul Scurrah, a former CEO at DP World Australia and Queensland Rail boss, as well as Execu ve General Manager at Aurizon, Flight Centre and Tourism Queensland, is replacing John Borghe , who has led the airline since 2010. According to the company, the most important challenge for the new CEO will be to stabilize the airline’s finances a er 6 unprofitable years, as during this me Virgin Australia has experienced 1,6 billion dollar losses, while last year’s loss was 653 million dollars. The company’s share registry is dominated by such major investors like Singapore Airlines, E had Airways, and Chinese groups HNA and Nanshan, which each own about 20 percent of its shares. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group owns another 10 percent.
Paul Scurrah
Changes at Software services provider Cognizant Brian Humphries
Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies that provides IT services, including digital technology, consul ng and opera ons services, has a new CEO. Brian Humphries, who is currently the CEO of Vodafone Business, is replacing company’s co-founder Francisco D’Souza, who has been with the Cognizant since 2007, star ng April. The company also announced that its president Rajeev Mehta will step down effec ve April 1, 2019, and will serve as an adviser to the new CEO un l May 1, 2019. Like its peers, the company has been focusing on cloud compu ng, cybersecurity and analy cs to reduce its dependence on IT services, where margins are falling as clients demand more work for less money. Before joining Vodafone, Brian used to work at Dell, where he held the posi on of President and Chief Opera ng Officer.
Victoria’s Secret hopes for a Turnaround
John Mehas
Victoria’s Secret has a new CEO, and he will have a lot of work to do this year. John Mehas has joined the business, replacing Jan Singer, who resigned a er 2 years in the posi on. Sales at the lingerie company have con nuously tumbled, with same-store sales recording a 6 percent drop last quarter and online sales pos ng a 2 percent drop. The company has also faced some cri cism for not being more inclusive, as the old ways that include flashy fashion shows and celebrity models aren’t drawing people’s a en on like they used to. In its prepared statement, Victoria’s Secret noted that their “No. 1 priority is improving performance at Victoria’s Secret Lingerie and PINK. In doing so, our new leaders are coming in with a fresh perspec ve and looking at everything — marke ng, brand posi oning, talent, real estate, costs, and merchandise assortments.“ europeanbusinessmagazine.com
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