WIZZ AIR
LEADERSHIP TEAM UPDATE
Geneva, 3 July
2024: Wizz Air Holdings Plc (the
"Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, "Wizz Air"), the
most environmentally sustainable airline in Europe, announces the
following changes to its Senior Leadership Team
structure:
Robert Carey has departed the
Company to pursue other interests. In the interim, József Váradi,
Chief Executive Officer, will assume commercial leadership
responsibilities for the next three months.
Effective from 1 October
2024, Michael Delehant, currently Chief Operations Officer, will be promoted to Senior Chief Commercial and Operations
Officer based in Budapest reporting to József Váradi.
Michael will assume the responsibility for Wizz Air Group's
operational and commercial activities. Michael joined Wizz Air in
2021, as Group Chief Operations Officer. He obtained a Bachelor
degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and his MBA
from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has over two
decades of executive airline experience in the fields of
commercial, operations and strategy, and a long track record of
leadership and corporate transformation. After a long career at
Southwest Airlines in the US, he joined Wizz Air from Vueling in
Europe where he was Chief Strategy and Network Officer.
Diarmuid O'Conghaile, currently
Managing Director Wizz Air Malta, will be promoted to Chief Operating Officer to oversee the
Group's operational activities and performance, based in Budapest
reporting to Michael Delehant. Prior to joining Wizz Air in his
current role in 2022, he served as Chief Executive of the Irish
Aviation Regulator, as Chief Executive of Malta Air at Ryanair
Group and in various managerial positions at Dublin Airport, the
European Commission, and the Irish government. He holds multiple
Bachelor degrees from Trinity College Dublin in economics and a
postgraduate diploma in competition law from Kings College
London.
Mauro Peneda, currently Head of
Operations Control, will be promoted to Managing Director Wizz Air Malta, based
in Malta, reporting to Diarmuid O Conghaile. Mauro joined Wizz Air in 2022 after nine years at the
LATAM Airlines Group, where he was most recently the Airports
Director of LATAM Brazil. Prior to his time at LATAM, he held
positions with consultancy companies. Mauro holds an
MSc in Civil Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon
and an MSc in Complex Transport Infrastructure Systems jointly from
Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon and MIT and a Postgraduate
Degree in Business Administration from Fundação Dom Cabral, São
Paulo, Brazil.
Subsequently, Silvia Mosquera,
Commercial Officer, will report to Michael Delehant.
Commenting on the appointments
József Váradi, the Company's Chief Executive Officer
said:
"Today's announcement marks
significant and well-deserved career advancements for Michael,
Diarmuid and Mauro. These promotions underscore Wizz Air's
steadfast commitment to promoting from within, based on performance
and merit. Their leadership and contributions will continue to
drive our success as we progress towards our WIZZ500 goals in the
years ahead. At the same time, we thank Robert for his contribution
and wish him success in his future endeavours."
- Ends -
ABOUT WIZZ AIR
Wizz Air, one of the most
sustainable European airlines, operates a fleet of over 200 Airbus
A320 and A321 aircraft. A team of dedicated aviation professionals
delivers superior service and very low fares, making Wizz Air the
preferred choice of 62 million passengers in the financial year
ending 31 March 2024. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock
Exchange under the ticker WIZZ. The company was recently named the
World's Top 5 Safest Low-Cost Airlines 2024
by airlineratings.com, the world's only safety and product rating agency, and named
Airline of the Year by Air Transport Awards in 2019 and in 2023.
Wizz Air has also been recognised as the "Most Sustainable Low-Cost
Airline" within the World Finance Sustainability Awards in
2021-2023 and the "Global Environmental Sustainability Airline
Group of the Year" by the CAPA-Centre for Aviation Awards for
Excellence 2022-2023.
For
more information:
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Investors:
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Mark Simpson, Wizz Air
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+36 1 777 9407
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Dorottya Durucsko, Wizz
Air
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Media:
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Andras Rado, Wizz Air
James McFarlane / Eleni Menikou/
Charles Hirst, MHP Group:
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+36 1 777 9324
+44 (0) 20 3128 8100
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