SilkAir appoints new chief executive

FOO Chai Woo has been appointed chief executive of SilkAir from May 18, while current CEO Leslie Thng will return to parent company Singapore Airlines (SIA).

An SIA veteran of nearly 21 years, Mr Foo has been SIA's divisional vice-president (sales & marketing) since May 2014. He has also held positions in both the head office as well as overseas. Head office positions included senior roles in network planning, market planning and reservations services.

Prior to assuming his current role in sales & marketing, he was based in Los Angeles as SIA's regional vice-president (Americas). Mr Foo has also held positions in India, Japan, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Mr Thng took on the role of SilkAir's chief in August 2012 and has led the carrier through a period of continued strong growth, said SilkAir.

"SilkAir has gone from strength to strength under Leslie's leadership, during which time the airline continued to grow both its network and its fleet in support of its role as the regional wing of Singapore Airlines," said SilkAir chairman Mak Swee Wah. "I look forward to working closely with Chai Woo in his new position as SilkAir continues to expand its operations to provide even more travel options to our customers."