Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka appointed CFO of Jet Airways

Former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, Vipula Gunatilleka has been appointed as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the grounded Jet Airways. The decision was taken by the promoters of the airlines, Jalan Kalrock consortium. 

Vipula Gunatilleka was serving as the CEO of Sri Lankan airways till last month. He has now been tasked with reviving the grounded carrier.

Gunatilleka will join Jet Airways officially from March 1, 2022. He is considered as a turnaround specialist and an aviation expert.

He had overseen the SriLankan airlines during the most difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had been tasked with restruction the airlines in 2018.

Jet Airways said in a statement that in less than two years of his assuming the role of CEO of SriLankan airlines, the airline recorded a positive EBITDA and cash flow for 2019-20, surviving the after effects of the Sri Lankan terror attacks in April 2019 and the global pandemic in early 2020.

SriLankan airline was, in fact, accredited with the “World's Most Punctual Airline” twice in 2019.

About Vipula Gunatilleka 

• Vipula Gunatilleka qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987. He then pursued his MBA from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 
• He also qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) from the UK. 
• He is also a Certified Public Accountant (FCPA) from Australia.
• He first joined SriLankan Airlines as its CFO in 2001. He served as the CFO of the airlines till January 2022. 
• Before that, he was serving as the CFO and Board Member of TAAG Angola Airlines from November 2015 to July 2018 under Emirates Management. 
• He had played a crucial role in turning around Angola's loss-making national carrier. 
• Gunatilleka is known for his astute knowledge in strategic planning, aircraft financing, cost-efficient business modelling and openness to adopt hybrid models.

Speaking on his new journey with Jet Airways, Gunatilleka shared, "I am very excited to join the company and I look forward to contributing my knowledge of last 30 years in Jet Airways' resurgence in its new avatar. We will capitalise on the strong brand value which Jet Airways has in the market and use it to re-build the lost ground."