Kenya national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has been making losses for years and this is seemingly not about to change anytime soon. The fourth largest airlines in Africa was marking profits until 2013 (FY2013) when it reported KES7.9 billion in losses after tax. This has been the trend ever since. After three years at the helm of KQ, Harvard University graduate Mbuvi Ngunze decided he had had enough of the carrier and called it quits in 2017. His exit ushered in a new Polish CEO Sebastian Mikosz.
Sebastian Mikosz -KQ CEO
The Pole has been burning the midnight oil to bring back the ailing airlines to profitability. His contract with KQ runs from June 1,2017 and will come to an end in June 2020. Mr Mikosz track record speaks volumes after his successful stint as CEO of LOT Polish Airlines. This is what convinced KQ top honchos to hire him.
KQ chair Michael Joseph said of the decision to rope in the Pole:
“We went through a long exhaustive process. We were looking for someone with the character that would help us turn around KQ to become once more the pride of Africa…” the former Safaricom CEO told a leading daily.
And Mikosz did not come alone; he tagged along five Polish expats he had worked with previously at POL Airlines. His decision was criticized but he stood by his decision saying:
“When you know the airline industry, this is like music. You know a good musician that plays a violin in Chicago, so you bring him to Nairobi for a while…”
“This is exactly what I did. The advantage of these guys is that I trust them and I have worked with them and they could hit the ground within three weeks. Will they stay… will they not? That is not decided…”
Salary of Sebastian Mikosz
The 44 year old CEO salary is kes3.5 million per year which translates to kes42 million per year. Allowances totaled to kes16.4 million per year and a total of kes4.44 million in benefits for the same period. This brings the total amount to Kes62.89 million per annum or kes5.2 million per month he earned in 2018. The CEO pay for the seven months he worked in 2017 was Kes46.69 per year or kes6.67 million. Next