The Tata Group has appointed former Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci as Air India’s Managing Director and CEO, effective on or before April 1. The move is aligned with the Tata Group’s objectives to appoint an expatriate CEO to oversee the airline that it took over from the Indian government last month.
Ilker Ayci has been the chairman of Turkish Airlines since 2015, and his resignation was announced on January 27 this year — the same day the Centre handed over Air India to Tata Group. Ayci worked as an advisor to the then-Mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, where he was actively engaged in a number of development projects in Turkey’s largest city. Erdoğan is the current President of Turkey.
Following the announcement of his appointment, Ilker Ayci said in a statement, “I am delighted and honored to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata Group. Working closely with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata Group, we will utilize the strong heritage of Air India to make it one of the best airlines in the world with a uniquely superior flying experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality.”
Ayci was born in 1971 in Istanbul. According to a Tata Group statement, he graduated from Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 1994. After completing a research stay in political science at Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1995, he went on to complete an International Relations Masters at Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997. Turkish President Erdoğan attended the wedding of Ilker Ayci and lawyer & sports commentator Tugçe Saatman on November 19, 2018, and stood as one of the witnesses.
Between 2005 and 2011, the newly appointed Air India CEO was also the CEO of countless insurance firms before being appointed President of Turkey’s Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency in January 2011. Two years later, in February 2013, he was appointed vice president of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies; a year later, he was promoted to chairman from 2014 to 2015.
“The Air India board met this afternoon to consider the candidature of Mr. Ilker Ayci. Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, was a special invitee to this board meeting. The board after due deliberations approved the appointment of Mr. Ilker Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India. This appointment is subject to requisite regulatory approvals,” the Tata Group said in a statement.