Virgin Australia CFO Sankar Narayan resigns

Virgin Australia has announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, Sankar Narayan, after four years in the role.

Narayan will leave the airline group in late September 2015, to take up a role in a different industry, the carrier said.

Virgin Australia’s executive general manager group finance, Geoff Smith, who sits on its executive committee and has been with the airline for over a decade, will move into the role of acting chief financial officer.

Smith is on the airline’s executive committee and has been with the company for more than 10 years.

According to the SMH, Virgin has not yet decided whether it will conduct a global search for a new CFO or if Smith will take up the role on a more permanent basis.

“Sankar has made a significant contribution to the Group over the past four years,” Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti said in a statement released on the ASX.

Borghetti outlined a number of initiatives Narayan was in charge of “including building a strong financial operating platform, spearheading the company’s transition to a single reservation system and designator code”.

He added Narayan also helped strengthen “the company’s balance sheet and diversifying its funding sources through innovative initiatives”.

Virgin movers & shakers

Narayan’s departure comes a month after Elizabeth Bryan began her role as the board’s chairman, replacing long-serving predecessor Neil Chatfield.

Bryan had not previously been a member of the Virgin board, which also includes representatives from major airline shareholders Air New Zealand, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines, as per SMH reports.

Virgin is also expected to appoint a new head of its Velocity frequent flyer program to replace outgoing boss Neil Thompson shortly.

Narayan has served as Virgin’s chief financial officer since April 2011, having previously served in the same role at Astro All Asia Networks, Fairfax Media, Rural Press, Foxtel and Shopfast, and held an important role in the transformation of the company from a low-cost carrier to a full-service airline.

Narayan also assisted with the airline’s efforts to access new avenues of financing from the US high-yield bond market.

Narayan was appointed one year after Virgin’s chief executive John Borghetti stepped into the company’s top role, after leaving his high-ranking top dog position at Qantas.

But, as SMH points out, unlike former Qantas CFO Gareth Evans, who now heads the Qantas international division and is viewed as the next leading man after Alan Joyce over at Qantas, Narayan was never seen as a potential successor to Mr Borghetti.

In the 2013-14 financial year, Narayan received total remuneration of $1.4 million, including cash and short-term incentives of $1.1 million, according to SMH.

Image: News.com.au

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