Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan has been appointed as the airline’s new CEO from January 1, 2021 after Leslie Thng returned to Singapore Airlines in a senior role.

With the Board’s approval, Kannan’s promotion as CEO is part of regular renewal of the senior management at the airline.

Kannan has been with Vistara since June 2019 and knows the Indian market well. As its CEO, his immediate task will be to drive international expansion further and stabilize the domestic business.

He started his career with Singapore Airlines in 2001 and held various senior positions, including that of CCO of the group’s budget airline Scoot. He has also handled global network planning and spent eight years running operations in Indonesia, Italy, and Saudi Arabia.