By Scott Wright
A FORMER chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, who led the institution through its initial recovery from near-collapse at the height of the financial crisis, has been appointed the next chairman of easyJet.
Stephen Hester, who succeeded Fred Goodwin and led Royal Bank for five years after taking the role around the time of its £45.5 billion bailout by the UK Government, will join the airline as non-executive director on September 1. Mr Hester, who is also a director of Centrica, will succeed John Barton as chairman on December 1.
After leaving RBS, Mr Hester was chief executive of RSA Insurance from 2014 to 2021. He is a former boss of British Land and chief operating officer of Abbey National, and has also held a number of senior executive roles at Credit Suisse First Boston in London and New York.
Mr Hester’s appointment at easyJet comes as the airline plots its recovery from the pandemic, which has hammered the global aviation sector. Airlines have been forced to take on huge debts in a bid to survive during long periods when flights were grounded and schedules were massively reduced. Many companies have gone out of business. In July, easyJet reported that it had reduced its cash burn to £55m as it focused on costs in the quarter to June 30. With net debt “broadly flat” at around £2bn, the airline reported a headline loss before tax of £318m for the quarter.
Ms Hester said: “As a long-standing admirer of easyJet, and from my own experience as a customer, I am very excited to be joining the airline and look forward to playing my part in driving its continued success.
“I see so many opportunities for this iconic brand in the coming years, all underpinned by its proven business model, unrivalled network and loyal customer base. I am convinced we can be winners in the European airline industry of the future, serving customers well and driving attractive shareholder value. I can’t wait to join the easyJet team.”
Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Stephen at this important time in our history as we continue to build on our many strengths and take advantage of the many opportunities that lie ahead following the pandemic. Over the past nearly nine years, the airline has benefitted greatly from John’s wise leadership and so my thanks also go to him for his outstanding contribution during his time with us.”
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