Air India’s Board of Directors has appointed Tewolde Gebremariam as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, succeeding Campbell Wilson. The change marks the formal close of the airline’s foundational turnaround phase and the start of what the company calls its high-growth execution era, a deliberate, complementary hand-off rather than a rupture.
Wilson, who guided Air India after its return to Tata Sons in 2022 is credited with the heavy lifting of the early years. Under his leadership, the carrier navigated complex merger and integration processes, launched a massive fleet modernisation programme (including orders for 600 new aircraft), introduced stronger corporate governance standards, and completed the stabilisation work required after decades of government ownership. The Board thanked him for laying the operational and organisational foundations that now allow the airline to shift focus from recovery to expansion.
Those foundations are precisely why Gebremariam’s appointment is framed as complementary. Where Wilson concentrated on stabilisation, integration and securing the fleet pipeline, the new CEO brings the skill-set required for the next stage. The task in hand is scaling a large, complex airline into a profitable global player. During more than a decade as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, he transformed a regional carrier into Africa’s largest and most profitable airline group, multiplying revenue more than fourfold and nearly tripling the fleet while building competitive hubs, world-class MRO and training infrastructure, and a rigorous safety-and-service culture.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Air India, made the sequential logic clear. He said, “Having completed the initial phase of stabilisation, integration, and fleet commitments under Campbell’s guidance, Air India is now entering a critical execution and expansion era. Tewolde’s track record in building one of the world’s most efficient and profitable airline groups makes him uniquely suited to lead Air India. His operational expertise, commitment to safety, and vision for hub development will be instrumental.”
In practical terms, the complementarity is clear. Wilson delivered the aircraft orders, the merged organisation and the governance platform. Gebremariam is expected to convert that platform into sustained long-haul growth, world-class hub operations, higher operational reliability, stronger engineering standards, and a high-performance, customer-first culture in areas in which his Ethiopian record is strongest. Passengers should see faster progress on on-time performance, modern cabins and seamless global connectivity. Employees are promised continued investment in training and career pathways under a leadership philosophy that places people at the centre. And Air India legacy retirees are also hopeful that under his regime they will get their earned passages which have been decreed upon Air India to offer retirees on subject to load basis.
Gebremariam himself called the appointment 'a profound honour' and stressed the opportunity to build a world-class global airline that reflects India’s economic potential while preserving warm Indian hospitality.
Air India Group today employs more than 30,000 people, operates over 300 aircraft and serves 60 domestic and 51 international destinations. Its five-year Vihaan.AI transformation programme, the progressive retrofit of legacy aircraft, and the development of a new flying school and greenfield maintenance base all form the runway the new CEO inherits.
The stabilisation work is complete and the growth chapter begins under a leader whose proven strengths are designed to build directly on the foundations Campbell Wilson put in place.