Ann: OFFICE: AIR: Air New Zealand has appointed C

• Release Date: 19/06/12 11:31
• Summary: OFFICE: AIR: Air New Zealand has appointed Christopher Luxon as CEO
• Price Sensitive: No
• Download Document  5.92KB

					

AIR
19/06/2012 09:31
OFFICE

REL: 0931 HRS Air New Zealand Limited (NS)

OFFICE: AIR: Air New Zealand has appointed Christopher Luxon as CEO

Air New Zealand has appointed Christopher Luxon as its next Chief Executive
Officer.

Chairman John Palmer said today Mr Luxon will take over from current Chief
Executive Officer Rob Fyfe at the end of December.
 Mr Luxon is presently Group General Manager International Airline and has
held the role since joining Air New Zealand in May, 2011, following a
successful career at Unilever in North America, Asia and Australia.  His most
recent role there was President and Chief Executive Officer of Unilever's
Canadian business.

Mr Palmer says Mr Luxon brings a wealth of international business experience
to Air New Zealand and an exceptionally strong commercial and customer focus.

"Christopher has world class strategic, commercial, leadership and
stakeholder management capabilities proven across multiple markets.  These
have been highly evident to the Air New Zealand Board in the year that he has
been with the company and we have seen him affect positive commercial
outcomes in our toughest operating division," Mr Palmer says.

Mr Luxon says he feels exceptionally privileged to be given the opportunity
to lead the world's best airline and further build on its commercial success
of the past decade.

"Rob Fyfe has done an incredible job transforming Air New Zealand and
steering it through some of the most difficult trading conditions in modern
history.  I will take over an airline that has significant financial
strength, some incredibly exciting commercial opportunities and 11,000 Air
New Zealanders who are committed to being world class in everything they do,"
Mr Luxon says.

Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe congratulated Mr Luxon on his appointment.

"Christopher thoroughly deserves to lead Air New Zealand into the next
chapter of its history.  He is a world class executive on every level and
will challenge Air New Zealanders to lift the airline's commercial and
customer focus to an even higher level," Mr Fyfe says.

Mr Palmer says the Board is delighted that it has been able to appoint an
internal candidate to the role of Chief Executive Officer.

"We conducted an exhaustive international search for a new Chief Executive
Officer and it gives the Board great heart that the succession process it had
in place furnished strong internal candidates leading to this appointment."

Mr Palmer says the Board and Mr Fyfe have in place a well planned transition
period over the next six months to ensure a seamless transition. Mr Luxon
will be able to use this time to get close to the parts of the business
outside his current responsibilities and to access the key domestic and
international aviation, investor and stakeholder relationships that are
crucial to running a world class airline.

Christopher Luxon Background

Christopher Luxon joined Air New Zealand in May 2011 from Unilever where he
was President and CEO of Unilever Canada since December 2008. In this role he
was responsible for leading Unilever's US$1.4 billion business & 1,500
employees in Canada. Christopher led Unilever Canada on a major change
programme that resulted in record growth, improved profitability and enhanced
customer service.

In addition to his Canadian responsibilities, Christopher was a key member of
the North American Leadership Team that directed Unilever's US$10 billion
regional business and he also sat on Unilever's Americas Regional Operations
Leadership Team. During 2011 he also led Unilever's US$4 billion Personal
Care business in the United States.

Christopher was born in Christchurch in 1970 and is the eldest of three boys.
His father was a sales executive for Johnson & Johnson and his mother a
psycho-therapist counsellor. At the age of seven Christopher and his family
moved to Auckland and settled in Howick. At the age of 15 he returned to
Christchurch and completed his last years of High School before going on to
attend Canterbury University to complete a Master in Commerce majoring in
Business Administration. In his last year at Canterbury University,
Christopher was recruited into the Unilever Management Trainee Program where
recruits would rotate in 6-12 month cycles around all parts of the business.

His first management role with the company was as Brand Manager of Unilever's
detergent business in New Zealand. After two years Christopher relocated to
Australia and spent five years in Sydney, where he was involved in various
sales and marketing roles. In his last three years Christopher also led one
of Unilever's Asian Innovation Centres.

Christopher's next career step with Unilever was at their Global Head Office
in London as the Global Deodorants and Grooming Category Director for three
years. This then led Christopher and his family to move to Chicago where he
was Regional Category Vice President Deodorants and Grooming North America
and then Toronto in his North America leadership roles.

Christopher joined Air New Zealand in May 2011 as Group General Manager
International Airline.

Air New Zealand's International Airline carries approximately 1.6 million
long haul passengers annually, has annual revenue of approximately $NZD 1.8
billion and employs more than 3,000 staff. The International Airline is the
most significant tourism business in New Zealand carrying a third of all
inbound visitors to New Zealand. Inbound visitors to New Zealand collectively
generate foreign exchange earnings of $NZD 9.5 billion a year.
Mr Luxon is married to his wife Amanda and they have two children - William
aged 12 and Olivia aged 10.

Note to editors: Unilever is one of the world's largest multi-national and
consumer packaged goods firms. It has annual sales of EUR46 billion and
operates in 190 countries employing 171,000 people. Unilever Canada comprises
of leading brands such as Flora, Hellmann's, Lipton, Streets, Ben & Jerry's,
Dove, Rexona, Axe, Vaseline, Ponds, and Sunsilk.
End CA:00224020 For:AIR    Type:OFFICE     Time:2012-06-19 09:31:43