EasyJet appoints City veteran Stephen Hester as chair

EasyJet has appointed Stephen Hester, one of the City of London’s most experienced chief executives, as chair as it attempts to emerge from a brutal period for the airline industry. Turnround specialist Hester, a former CE of RSA Insurance, Royal Bank of Scotland and British Land, will succeed John Barton, chair of the carrier for almost nine years, on December 1. He will join the board as a non-executive director from next month. Like the rest of the aviation industry, easyJet has struggled over the past 18 months as the coronavirus pandemic has plunged the sector into crisis with travel restrictions and reduced flights. The carrier, which has lost more than GBP2b during the pandemic including suffering its first annual loss in its 25-year history in 2020, still only expects to fly about 60% of its 2019 schedule between July and September. With the traditionally lean winter period approaching, chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis has signalled the carrier may need a second capital raise to bolster its finances by the end of the year. But management has also used the crisis to transform the business through cost-cutting and efficiencies, introducing new ways of raising revenue including charging to use overhead luggage lockers. Hester will also face the challenge of improving relations with founder and largest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.<br/>