Moutter slates ‘fake news’ on Air NZ top job
Former Spark chief executive Simon Moutter has rejected an Australian news report that he’s a frontrunner for the top job at Air New Zealand.
On Sunday evening The Australian Financial Review’s (AFR) Los Angeles-based columnist Joe Aston said Air New Zealand’s hunt for a new chief executive had been narrowed down to Moutter or the airline’s chief revenue officer Cam Wallace.
The national carrier is looking for a new chief executive after incumbent Christopher Luxon announced in June he would be leaving the company on September 25.
Last month Air New Zealand appointed its chief financial officer Jeff McDowall as an interim replacement for Luxon but he was not seeking permanent appointment to the role.
In a tweet yesterday afternoon Moutter said he was not a candidate for the Air New Zealand chief executive role and he had at no point put himself forward for the role.
‘‘I see the AFR is cre- ating some fake news today,’’ the tweet said.
The AFR column said Air New Zealand would name Luxon’s successor within a fortnight.
Yesterday, an Air New Zealand spokeswoman said it would not comment on the report or confirm whether or not it was correct.
The spokeswoman said the airline had nothing further to add to a statement it issued in August detailing that its board had appointed leadership recruitment firm Spencer Stuart’s Sydney office to conduct a global search for a new chief executive.
‘‘Extremely high calibre’’ candidates from within New Zealand and around the world with a mix of industry backgrounds expressed an interest in the chief executive role, she said.
Chairman Tony Carter and incoming chairman Dame Therese Walsh were leading the recruitment process on behalf of the board and all directors would be involved in the selection process, she said.
Moutter has past experience in the aviation industry having worked as chief executive of Auckland International Airport between 2008 and 2012. Most recently he was chief executive of Spark before leaving the New Zealand telco in July.