AirAsia India Appoints Mittu Chandilya as CEO

AirAsia India’s Board of Directors has appointed Mittu Chandilya as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 June 2013.

Mittu has a unique mix of leadership experience ranging from a successful entrepreneurial start-up, to country, regional and global leadership roles within multinational organizations and finally to high-impact management consulting experience.

Mittu has always been a passionate follower of the aviation industry, and in his last role as Principal and Head of Services - Asia Pacific at Egon Zehnder, took leadership in the travel and hospitality segment where his primary focus was airlines and aviation.

Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes said, “He is an outstanding young man with great entrepreneurial skills. He is very passionate about the LCC business and possesses the crucial understanding on how our business model works. He came from a highly competitive industry and experienced different business temperaments by working in many parts of the world, so he’s perfect for the ever-volatile aviation business. India is an important market for us, and a CEO of Mittu’s stature and business acumen will definitely help us to attain significant market share and achieve rapid growth in India.”

Mittu grew up in India, Africa and the USA and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics (Dean’s List) with a distinguishing triple major from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA. Mittu also has MBA degrees from INSEAD, France/Singapore and from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Mittu Chandilya, said, “I am a native of Chennai, and I am excited about returning to India to revolutionize the air travel industry here. I am looking forward to being part of the dynamic AirAsia family, and most importantly, to bring a whole new meaning to the word ‘flying’ to consumers in India.”

At present, AirAsia through its operations based in Thailand and Malaysia already connects Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruchirapalli (Trichy), Kochi and Kolkata to Asean and beyond.

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