The challenges for Campbell Wilson!

The arrival of Campbell Wilson at Air India this month will be a major milestone in Tata's effort to bring the sheen back to the Maharaja. His appointment has also heightened debate on the possibility of the Tatas merging Al and Vistara. It is a continuing subject of discussion. But for the moment, Campbell will have more pressing issues like downsizing the staff, renewing the fleet and getting the airline back on track..

In a not-so-surprising announcement, the Tata Group relied on its partner- Singapore Airlines to find a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Air India. Campbell Wilson, who has spent his entire career with the Singapore Airlines Group will take over as CEO and MD of Air India in mid-June. This comes after the debacle of the appointment of more ilk Ayci as its CEO and the negative reaction leading to Ayci withdrawing.

Campbell Wilson's appointment the contrary has been widely welcomed. He is viewed as one of those solid airline professionals who have gone through the grind, soiled their hands, and are pretty well prepared to handle any headwinds.

Of course, Wilson will confront a host of challenges, but he brings along experience that is invaluable and could help solve a complex puzzle the Tata group inherited the challenge of operating two airlines (Air India and Air India Express), looking at the merger of AirAsia India and integrating it with the group plus fitting Vistara into the mix.

Having spent his entire working life at Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group (since 1996) with exposure to markets in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan, Wilson has experience in sales, marketing, revenue and network planning. Few airline groups groom and rotate their team as the SIA does across the entire spectrum of the airline business and thereby producing talented and hugely confident senior executives who are competent to go on and lead airline companies on their own.

From the perspective of the Tata Group, the board got what it was looking for: a leader who has a proven track record has diverse experience, is a stable persona with a long track record in an institution, is reasonably young, and can lead a diverse team that needs to look at complex issues on a day to day basis.