Dubai: Etihad Aviation Group announced on Monday it has appointed Ray Gammell as interim chief executive officer for the group, replacing James Hogan, the current president and group CEO who will step down on July 1, 2017.

Gammell, who will assume full management responsibilities from Monday (May 8), is the group’s current Chief People and Performance Officer. He has been a member of the business’ executive leadership since joining in 2009.

In a statement, Etihad also said it has appointed Ricky Thirion as interim group chief financial officer, replacing James Rigney who will also leave the company on July 1, 2017. Thirion is the current senior vice president, group treasurer.

Mohammad Al Mazroui, chairman of the board of Etihad Aviation Group, said in the statement the company is currently in “advanced stages of recruitment” for a new group CEO. He said an announcement will be made in the next few weeks.

“Ray will now take full management responsibility for the Etihad Aviation Group, ensure a coordinated group approach, and continue to advance the strategic review that was initiated by the board in 2016 to reposition the business for continued development in what we anticipate being a prolonged period for challenges for global aviation,” Al Mazroui said.

Gammell has over 20 years of leadership experience across the technology, financial, and government sectors. He has held executive positions for Intel Corporation in the US and Ireland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and was an officer in the Irish Armed Forces. He has been a chief officer at Etihad Airways for over eight years.

Thirion, meanwhile, has overseen the group treasury of Etihad since 2007. His areas of responsibility cover the treasury, finance, tax, insurance, payment solutions, and fraud management, among others.

Before joining Etihad, he held roles as group treasurer at South African Airways, and managing director at Standard Bank Group.

The two new appointments follow Etihad’s announcement in late January about its CEO and CFO both stepping down in the second half of 2017. The move came as the Abu Dhabi-based airline continued to record losses from its investments in Air Berlin and Alitalia.

Last week, Etihad’s Hogan said it was clear Alitalia requires “fundamental and far-reaching restructuring to survive and grow in the future.”

He added, “Without the support of all stakeholders for that restructuring, we are not prepared to continue to invest. We therefore support the necessary decision of the Alitalia board to apply for extraordinary administration.”

 Etihad pledged to cover Alitalia’s part of EA Partners bonds — sources

Etihad Airways agreed at the end of last year to repay a portion of two bonds maturing in 2020 and 2021 on behalf of Alitalia if the Italian airline ends up defaulting, two sources familiar with the situation said yesterday. Etihad and a number of airlines in which it has equity stakes issued the bonds worth a combined $1.2 billion (Dh4.41 billion) in 2015 and 2016 via a special purpose vehicle (SPV) known as EA Partners. Alitalia’s exposure to EA Partners corresponds to roughly 19 per cent of the $700 million 2020 bond and about 20 per cent of the 2021 bond, or about $235 million of the overall principal.

The sources were confirming an agreement first reported by ratings agency Fitch on May 3, the day after Alitalia asked the Italian government to put it under administration. The airline had debts of about 3 billion euros (Dh12.12 billion; $3.3 billion) at the end of February.