National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is going to appoint another foreigner as its managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) although the civil aviation and tourism minister had asked to find a person for the post from among the locals, reports UNB.
According to the Biman sources, Managing Director (MD) of South African carrier Fastjet, Kyle Haywood, is going to be the next boss of Biman Bangladesh Airlines 'if everything goes well'.
The Board of Directors of the national flag carrier in a meeting recently approved a proposal of the selection committee to appoint the South-African-born British citizen.
"As I know, Biman board has already shortlisted the person for the post and sent letter of offer," civil aviation and tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon said Monday.
When his attention was drawn to his previous remarks to appoint the new Biman MD and CEO from among the locals, the minister said he had given this instruction to the Biman board during a previous meeting. "But, the board did not find any suitable person for the job from among the local professionals," he added.
On April 20, tourism and civil aviation minister Rashed Khan Menon while holding a meeting with the high-ups of the national flag carrier emphasised finding a local person for the post of managing director.
"We want to pick a person from the country, if we fail to find anyone at home we'll then look for someone from outside. If a foreigner can run Biman as MD, why can't we do it?" Menon had told the meeting then.
Biman had received 40 applications for its vacant post of managing director and chief executive officer.
The sub-committee headed by Civil Aviation Secretary Khurshed Alam Chowdhury made a short-list from the applicants. According to sources at Biman, a total of 26 foreign nationals and 14 Bangladeshis showed their interest in taking the charge of Biman.
Biman, a losing concern for the last couple of years, invited applications on April 9 from deserving Bangladeshis and foreign nationals for the post. The last date for submission of applications was May 16.
Candidates aged between 45 and 60 years, having minimum 20 years' experience in aviation, including 10 years in a senior management or directorial position and with detailed knowledge of airline marketing, were asked to apply for the post.
The aspirant candidates faced a preliminary interview. Of the applicants living aboard faced the interview through videoconferencing.
Finding \\\'no local professional\\\' Biman goes for foreign MD & CEO
FE Team | Published: August 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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