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* To be replaced by Iberia CEO Luis Gallego
* To retire in June
* Has been CEO since IAG's formation in 2011
(Adds background, analyst)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Willie Walsh, head of British
Airways parent firm IAG, will step down in June from
the airlines group he helped build and hand the reins to Luis
Gallego, current CEO of IAG's Iberia.
Walsh said in November that succession planning was under
way as he intended to retire as chief executive in the next two
years. Gallego has been CEO of Iberia since 2014.
Irishman Walsh, a former pilot, has spent his career in the
industry and has been instrumental in establishing IAG.
He became CEO of British Airways in 2005 and oversaw its
merger with Iberia in 2011 to form IAG. He has since expanded
IAG through acquisitions.
IAG chairman Antonio Vazquez said that Gallego was the right
candidate to lead IAG in the next stage of its development, as
did Walsh.
"Luis has been a core member of the team and has shown true
leadership over the years and I have no doubt he will be a great
CEO of IAG," Walsh said in a statement on Thursday.
Goodbody analyst Mark Simpson said the appointment would
mean little change in IAG's strategy and would be welcomed by
investors.
Walsh had "fantastic success at building IAG but obviously
promoting internally is seen as a positive. The market regards
his successor well," Simpson said.
SLASHER WALSH
Walsh made his name standing up to unions and cutting costs
first at Ireland's Aer Lingus, where he became CEO in 2001, and
then at British Airways, earning him the nickname Slasher Walsh
in an industry he once characterised as a "fight for survival".
It was at Aer Lingus where he formed the template for his
strategy, benefitting from a front-row seat to the rapid
expansion of budget rival Ryanair.
Walsh was much quicker than rival European flag carriers Air
France-KLM and Lufthansa to embrace budget
flying. IAG bought short-haul carrier Vueling in 2015 and set up
long-haul low-cost carrier Level in 2017.
He also bought Aer Lingus in 2015, and IAG is currently in
the process of a 1 billion euro deal to buy Spain's Air Europa.
IAG said that Walsh, 58, would step down from his role and
the board of IAG on March 26 before retiring on June 30.
Gallego's successor at Iberia will be announced in due
course, IAG said.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton and Jason
Neely)
