SAA looks beyond aviation industry for new hands to guide ailing airline

Mooted new chief Kalawe is said to have performed well against other candidates

THE Department of Public Enterprises and the board of South African Airways (SAA) are taking a risk in appointing Monwabisi Kalawe, a relatively unknown candidate with no aviation experience, to the post of CEO of the ailing airline.

However, Mr Kalawe, whose appointment has yet to be officially announced, will be taking as much of a risk. He is the latest in a long list of better-known, professional managers who have been bruised by SAA, such as Coleman Andrews, Andre Viljoen, Khaya Nqgula and more recently Vuyisile Kona, who served in an acting capacity.

Much is at stake with the appointment of the airline’s new CEO. Mr Kalawe will have to shoulder the responsibility of implementing a turnaround strategy for the carrier that he had no hand in crafting, while navigating the notoriously treacherous and political terrain that is SAA.

In the past six months the airline has been rocked by leadership instability after the suspension of Mr Kona. He was appointed chairman last year when Cheryl Carolus and much of her board resigned in protest, which triggered the departure of then CEO Siza Mzimela.

SAA reported a loss of R1.25bn last year as it has struggled to manage runaway fuel costs, constrained demand for travel and increased competition from larger, well-funded competitors from the Middle East and other parts of Africa.

It is understood that the choice of Mr Kalawe, whose selection has yet to be presented to the Cabinet for recommendation by Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba, has caused a stir in the department because of his lack of aviation experience.

Well-placed sources have explained that Mr Kalawe, who was short-listed for the board of SAA by an executive search company, performed well against other candidates at his interview, impressing the board sufficiently to warrant his selection.

Mr Kalawe is MD of Compass Group SA, a contract food services company that employs about 6,000 people. He has held this position since 2008.

It has been suggested that Mr Kalawe may be supported as SAA CEO by creating a position for acting CEO Nico Bezuidenhout. Mr Bezuidenhout has been head of SAA’s low-cost airline, Mango, since it started in 2008.

Earlier this month the task team responsible for drafting the turnaround strategy for SAA handed the plan to Mr Gigaba. The strategy is under review by the department and is also being

scrutinised by the Treasury, which made a business plan for financial sustainability a condition of throwing a lifeline to the airline last year, when it extended a R5bn, two-year guarantee in October.

The new plan, which has yet to be made public or presented to the Cabinet, sets out what routes SAA plans to drop or add to its network. It will also include the carrier’s funding needs.

Mr Kalawe’s experience appears to be in food and hospitality services companies, which the board is said to believe would stand him in good stead when managing the SAA group of businesses, which includes a South African Tourism Centre, SAA Technical, SAA Cargo, and catering business Air Chefs.

University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business professor Kurt April said there “are very few CEOs who have industry experience … you would need experience in management and in working with boards but it is rare that you would need hands-on experience and this is a global trend. Colin Hall of Wooltru was a lawyer; the chairman of Goldman Sachs has a music degree … Maria Ramos never worked as a banker and is regarded as one of the country’s best executives.”

Mr Kalawe qualified as an electrical engineer in 1986 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He worked at Eskom for four years before joining Nestlé and completing his MBA at UCT.

Mr Gigaba’s spokesman, Mayihlome Tshwete, said he could not comment.

“I am not willing to undermine the appointment processes that government follows, and the appointment process of the CEO of SAA is still ongoing and is still to be affirmed by Cabinet,” he said.

Mr Kalawe did not respond to an SMS seeking comment and could not be reached by phone.