The Kenya Airports Authority Board (KAA) has confirmed Alex Gitari as the managing director, sealing the position that has experienced cancellations in search for MD.
The position has been vacant for nearly two years.
Earlier before, Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia cancelled interviews for the appointment of the position after the board only presented a single name.
The standard procedure requires the board to submit three names for the Cabinet secretary to tap one as head of a State corporation.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Guitar for a term of three years effective July 8, 2021,”Susan Kiama, the director of the human resource committee, said.
“He has provided effective leadership and KAA in an acting position and we have confidence that he is the right candidate to guide the authority through this pandemic,” added Kiama.
Gitari holds a masters of business administration in finance from the University of Nairobi.
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He also holds an advanced management program from Harvard business school and a Bachelors degree of commerce in accounting from the University of Nairobi.
Until his confirmation, the 57-year-old Gitari served as the General Manager Finance.
KAA appointed him as MD in an interim capacity following the exit of Jony Andersen.
The announcement of Andersen’s exit in August 2019 came days after Kenya Airways reported a Ksh8.6 billion loss in six months to June 30 the same year.
The agency has been without a substantive head for close to two years after the term of the Norwegian Johnny Andersen ended in 2019 and the expatriate opted against a second term.
The KAA conducted the first interview in February last year with the second one happening in March.
Appointment of MD at KKA has been marred by controversy in the recent past.
According to Business Daily, KAA witnessed a bungled process following the resignation of Lucy Mbugua who had been accused of corruption in 2015.
Mr Macharia cancelled the recruitment process and appointed consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to hire afresh even as vested interests fought viciously for the job, leading to thehiring of Mr Andersen.
