Jennifer Bamuturaki the CEO of the Uganda Airlines has been under pressure for the last two weeks since COSASE chaired by Hon Joel Ssenyonyi probed into the affairs of the National Carrier.
Today we take a look at how Bamuturaki weighs with the rest of the airlines CEOs in the region.
Allan Kilavuka of Kenya Airways
He is the chief executive officer and managing director of Kenya Airways, Kenya’s national carrier established in 1977. He’s been CEO since April 2022. He doubles as a board member of the International Air Transport Association – a trade association of the world’s airlines.
Between January 2019 to March 31, 2020, Kilavuka served as the CEO of Jambojet, a low-cost carrier entirely owned by Kenya Airways. Before that, he served as the Head of Global Operations for General Electric Africa between July 2015 and November 2015 among other roles. Kilavuka holds a Bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Nairobi and a post-graduate certificate in Psychology from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom.
He is an active member of the Certified Public Accounts of Kenya. Although Kilavuka’s salary isn’t public, he is reported to have earned approximately $348,000 (approx 107 million shillings per month) in salary and non-cash benefits in 2020.
Kenya Airways reported a net loss of $130.5 million for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, a 56.58 per cent decrease from the $313.2 million net loss reported for the financial year ended December 31, 2020. The company last reported a profit in 2012.
MESFIN TASEW BEKELE of Ethiopian Airlines
Bekele has superintended the national airline of Ethiopia since March 2022. Although he manages a fleet of 138 aircraft, Bekele earns a paltry $2,230 per month. The airline reported a revenue of $3.5 billion for the financial year 2020/21 maintaining the top spot as Africa’s most profitable airline.
Bekele has experience spanning over four decades in airline management. Before he was appointed CEO, Bekele served as the chief operating officer of Ethiopian Airlines between 2010 and 2021. He earlier served as the vice president of maintenance and engineering between 2006 and 2010 for the same airline.
Bekele holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, from Addis Ababa University. He also holds a master of science in communications engineering from the same university and another master of business administration degree from the Open University, in the United Kingdom. However, the airline is Africa’s most profitable airline since its establishment in December 1945.
YVONNE MANZI MAKOLO of RwandAir
She is the CEO of RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda, established in 2002. Makolo holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental sciences from McGill University, Canada, and a postgraduate diploma in information technology from the Institute of Information Technology in Canada.
She worked on a World Bank project with an NGO called World links, which computerized Rwandan schools and also trained Rwandan teachers in the use of computers. In 2006, she joined MTN Rwanda where she rose through the ranks to become the company’s marketing manager.
In 2017, Makolo became the deputy managing director in charge of corporate affairs of RwandAir before she was appointed substantive managing director for the airline in 2018.
On June 20, 2022, Makolo was announced as the first woman to chair the International Air Transport Association board of governors effective June 2023. By 2016, the airline had racked up $222 million in losses with the figure expected to have grown further during the two years of the pandemic. Yvonne Makolo’s salary is not public but considered to be earning around 156 million Ugandan shilings monthly.
LADISLAUS MATINDI of Air Tanzania Company Limited
Matindi has been managing director and chief executive officer of Air Tanzania since 2016. Air Tanzania was established in September 2016. Matindi holds a master’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Padollia University, Ukraine, and an MBA in International Business from Birmingham University in the United Kingdom.
He previously served as the director of the Joint Programme Office for the European Union Satellite Navigation Services for the African Region Programme. This is a regional structure created to coordinate the deployment of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
Matindi earns atleast 198 Uganda shillings monthly as CEO of Air Tanzania.
Thomas Kgokolo of South Africa Airlines
He is the interim CEO of South African Airways, the national carrier of South Africa established in 1934. He’s been CEO effective April 13, 2021. He has been a lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science since March 2017.
Kgokolo also serves as the board chairperson of the Mineworkers Provident Fund (MWPF) managing approximately $1.6 billion in assets. He is the Non-Executive Director at the Air Traffic Navigation Services- the sole provider of air traffic management, navigation, training, and associated services within South Africa.
He is a member of the audit committee at the Financial Intelligence Centre and National Consumer Tribunal. Kgokolo holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Computing from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Pretoria.
He is a chartered accountant of South Africa. He is pursuing an executive doctorate in business administration and management general at Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Although the CEO’s salary is not public, media reports indicate that he earns approximately $355,000 every year (approx 109 million per month). As of April 2020, South African Airways had racked up about $1.7 billion in net losses accumulated since 2008.
