advertisement
There may be differences between IndiGo promoters Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia on certain matters but the company has a great track record of resolving such matters and coming out ahead, said airline's CEO Ronojoy Dutta on Saturday, 18 May.
"If the current differences were to not get resolved, you shall certainly hear about it; however, it serves no purpose speculating about it," Dutta said in a press release on Saturday evening.
"We all know, that in any strong and well-managed company there will always be differences," Dutta said.
Dutta said he "deeply resents and wishes" to dispel all attempts to portray "us as a fractured team at IndiGo".
The CEO said the airline remains committed to its path of a rapid build-up of airline connectivity within India and to international destinations.
While Gangwal owns around 37 percent share in InterGlobe Aviation, Bhatia has around 38 percent share in the company that is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Dutta said Gangwal has authorised him to give a following statement on his behalf: "I am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG (Rakesh Gangwal) Group to take control of the company."
According to Dutta, Gangwal said, "Also, to put to rest the messaging on the fact that the RG Group is attempting to renegotiate the Shareholders Agreement (SHA), I (Gangwal) am placing on record that the RG Group stands by the current SHA which, in any case, expires this October."
"I would like to forcefully address these baseless speculation as they are not in the best interests of our shareholders, our employees and the travelling public," the CEO said.
Talking about the management changes the airline has gone through since few years, Dutta said, "all great companies go through periods of transition as they evolve from one phase of their growth to another and a little bit of turbulence during these transition phases is neither unusual nor unwelcome."
Last year, Aditya Ghosh quit as the IndiGo CEO in April. For around nine months after him, Rahul Bhatia - one of the airline promoters - served as the interim CEO.
Many expats have been appointed in senior positions of the airline in last few years. For example, Jason Herter joined IndiGo as Vice President, Operations Control Centre and Dispatch in October 2016 and Wolfgang Prock-Schauer joined the airline as Chief Operating Officer in January 2018.
Dutta said,"the promoters and the Board have worked as a team in making these management changes. We would urge the press not to confuse every management change as a sign of dissonance at the top."
The CEO said it is true that the Bhatia's holding company InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) is represented by the law firm of J Sagar Associates whereas RG group is represented by law firm of Khaitan and Company.
"Thus, the 4-year-old ongoing retainer history of the law firms should not be presented or seen as a new revelation," he added.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)