27 May 2009

CIAL acting CEO takes up role full time

CIAL's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Boult

Christchurch International Airport Ltd chairman David Mackenzie today announced that acting chief executive officer, Jim Boult, has been appointed as the airport company’s new chief executive. 

“The Board is very pleased it is able to appoint a person of Jim Boult’s quality and experience to the position.  His extensive business management and tourism sector experience, and his in-depth knowledge of the airport company’s business, provide CIAL with an extremely capable and talented chief executive for current times”.  

Jim Boult has been a director of CIAL since 2003, and has been the acting chief executive since February. 

“Jim’s past roles provide the company with a unique opportunity to appoint a respected business person with intimate knowledge of the business and the issues facing its development. 

After conducting a comprehensive executive search, that began in January 2009, through an independent recruitment company, the Board has concluded that Jim Boult is the best person for the role.   

“Although we had a number of quality candidates, none had the right depth of relevant experience or skills to meet the particular challenges that CIAL faces in the next few years.   

“The search process CIAL undertook demonstrated to the Board that there was no better person to lead the company through current business issues than the person we had acting in the role,” said Mr Mackenzie. 

“As a consequence, we approached Jim and asked him to consider if he would take up the chief executive position in other than an acting role, for a period that would see CIAL’s Integrated Terminal Project substantially completed.   

“The Board appreciated this placed Jim in a position that neither he, nor the Board, had anticipated when he agreed to be the acting chief executive for an interim period, but the deciding factors in the Board’s decision to approach Jim were the manner that he has accelerated the smooth development of key projects, the positive manner in which stakeholders have responded to his leadership style and his commitment to stakeholder engagement.  We have also been delighted in the way the management team has responded to Jim’s management style.  Staff engagement has increased significantly under his leadership, and we have no doubt that we have a high quality management team.”

“Jim’s appointment provides the company with a widely respected chief executive officer capable of leading a committed management team in several important initiatives and projects that CIAL is undertaking at this time”, said Mr Mackenzie. 

Mr Boult will take up his formal position as chief executive on 1 July and will step down from his position as a director of CIAL.  A new director will be appointed to replace him on the CIAL board.