Kalrock-Jalan consortium has announced the appointment of Vipula Gunatilleka as Chief Financial Officer of Jet Airways. Gunatilleka will take on the role from March 1. Before this, Gunatilleka was the CEO of SriLankan Airlines till January 2022, and had led the operations of the national carrier during the pandemic.
Gunatilleka was brought in by the carrier’s board to restructure SriLankan Airlines. The ex-CEO is known to have turned around the fortunes of the airline. In less than two years since he took over, SriLankan Airlines recorded positive EBITDA/cash flow for FY 2019-20, even considering the aftermath of the April 2019 terror attacks and the pandemic in early 2020, the consortium said in a statement.
“I am very excited to join the company and I look forward to contributing my knowledge of the 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 rebuild the lost ground,” said Gunatilleka.
Before SriLankan Airlines, Gunatilleka was the CFO and board member of TAAG Angola Airlines from November 2015 to July 2018.
Ankit Jalan, member of the Monitoring Committee of Jet Airways and part of Jalan-Kalrock Consortium said, “Vipula is an aviation expert and regarded as a turnaround specialist in the industry. He has been shortlisted after a rigorous process run by our Executive Team over the last several months. I am certain Vipula will be an asset to the organization and will provide the necessary vision to revive the operations of Jet Airways as per the plans of the Consortium.”
Gunatilleka qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987, following which he pursued his MBA from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is also a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) from the UK and is a Certified Public Accountant (FCPA) from Australia.
The former CEO said that he joined SriLankan Airlines as its CFO in 2001 at a time when it was part of the Emirates Group. He said he is aware of the responsibility that lingers on the shoulders of the Jet Airways leadership team.
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