Staff Reporter 

WINDHOEK - Air Namibia’s Board of Directors has confirmed the appointment of Xavier Masule as interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the national airline until a substantive CEO is appointed. According to Air Namibia’s Board Chairperson, Adv Dee Sauls-Deckenbrock, the process for making the substantive appointment has commenced. 

Masule, who holds B. Comm (Accounting) and MBA degrees, is a seasoned professional with over 19 years of aviation industry experience and is certified and recognised by IATA as an Aviation Management Professional. 

In a statement received over the weekend, the Board also announced that Ingrid Cupido, an experienced legal professional in the aviation sector, will assume the duties of Interim Senior Accountable Manager for overall aviation regulatory compliance and activities while Wimpie van Vuuren, who has more than 26 years of commercial experience in the aviation industry both locally and internationally, will take up the position of Acting General Manager: Commercial Services. 

“The board wishes to thank the team for taking up their new assignments and is confident they will all discharge their responsibilities with skills, diligence and passion to ensure that the airline regains its rightful place as a reliable and trusted corporate citizen. Our valued stakeholders and in particular our loyal customers, can look forward to the dawn of a new era in the lifespan of Air Namibia, wherein we will focus our commercial endeavours on smoothing the particularly rocky road that the airline has so far traversed, before we forge a fresh new path for the future,” Sauls-Deckenbrock concluded.