Vinod Kannan to take over as Vistara's chief strategy officer in June; appointment amid carrier’s preparation to fly overseas

Mumbai: Vistara on Tuesday said Vinod Kannan will take over as its chief strategy officer from June as the full-service carrier prepares to fly overseas. Currently, Sanjiv Kapoor is both chief commercial officer as well as chief strategy officer at Vistara, a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines. Kannan has been working as chief commercial officer at Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA) group, since October 2017. [caption id=“attachment_2766448” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “As Vistara accelerates its growth and prepares to take the next leap in its journey of becoming a global brand, certain changes have been introduced in the leadership structure,” an airline spokesperson told PTI. “Strategy and commercial are cornerstones of any airline’s business, and these two areas will be bolstered to ensure focus on key priorities,” the spokesperson said. Kannan from the Singapore Airlines group will be joining Vistara next month as chief strategy officer, while Kapoor will remain chief commercial officer, the spokesperson added. Kannan, who has done his graduation in electrical engineering, has been with SIA group since 2001. The domestic carrier is preparing to start overseas flights and has also placed orders for a significant number of planes. In March, civil aviation secretary P S Kharola said Vistara has received permission to operate international flights. Vistara, which has 22 aircraft on its fleet, operates around 140 flights every day. The airline commenced commercial operations on 9 January 2015.