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The Comair board has announced that CEO Erik Venter has resigned from the company to pursue his own interests.
Comair operates under its low-fare airline brand, kulula.com, as well as under the British Airways livery, as part of a license agreement.
Venter, who has been with Comair for 23 years - 13 of them as CEO - leaves at the end of July 2019.
The board has not yet decided on a new appointment. Board chair, and himself a former Comair CEO, Piet van Hoven, says Venter, who is only the fifth CEO in the company's 73-year history, leaves Comair in a much stronger position than when he started.
"When Erik took over Comair was almost exclusively dependent on its airline businesses which are notoriously subject to seasonal and economic vagaries," said Van Hoven in a statement.
"He conceived and led our diversification strategy. Other group businesses now contribute nearly 30% of profit before tax, a proportion that is growing."
These businesses include the group’s investment in an aviation training academy with a global customer base, as well as its SLOW lounge business, its Food Directions catering unit, its travel business and its investment in technology solutions for tourism, travel and aviation.
Wrenelle Stander, an industry veteran and former Comair director, who has now returned to the board, is a recent addition to an executive team, which collectively has over 100 years’ experience at the airline.
Stander was appointed executive director responsible for the airline business in September last year.
