- Rahul Bhatia, IndiGo's managing director, will manage the airline's affairs on interim basis
- Bhatia co-founded IndiGo in 2006 and is one of its promoters and current managing director
- Bhatia's net worth is $6.5 billion and he holds an electrical engineering degree from Waterloo
Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Tuesday announced that Pieter Elbers has stepped down as InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s chief executive officer with immediate effect. The resignation comes months after the airline faced its worst-ever operational disruption.
In his resignation letter shared by the company on BSE, Elbers said, “As per our conversation, due to personal reasons, I herewith submit my resignation from the position of CEO of IndiGo with effect from today. I would request that the notice period may be waived off.” He was part of the airline since September 2022.
The company added that Bhatia, presently the company's managing director, will assume the management of the affairs of the airline on an interim basis.
“Rahul returns to assume management of the affairs of the airline to strengthen the Company's Culture, reinforce Operational Excellence and deepen its commitment to delivering exceptional service of care, reliability and professionalism to its customers”, said the Chairman of the Board, Vikram Singh Mehta.
Who Is Rahul Bhatia?
Bhatia, apart from the airline's MD, is also one of its promoters. He established InterGlobe in 1989 with its flagship business of Air Transport Management. He then went on to co-found the airline – IndiGo – with Rakesh Gangwal in 2006.
Later, in 2019, Bhatia and Gangwal had a public falling out over how the airline was functioning. In 2022, Gangwal stepped down from the board and has been gradually selling his stake since.
As per Forbes, Bhatia's net worth stands at $6.5 billion.
In terms of educational background, Bhatia completed his bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
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