Cathay Pacific’s new CEO inherits long to-do list for carrier’s revival

The new chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. faces many challenges when he starts on Jan. 1, from reviving the carrier’s international network after the Covid crisis to appeasing unhappy pilots. Cathay said Wednesday that Ronald Lam, 50, will replace Augustus Tang as CEO, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The Cambridge University graduate takes over with Hong Kong’s main airline still in a tight spot after Covid travel restrictions left it operating at bare-bones capacity for much of the pandemic. While Hong Kong has opened its borders to quarantine-free travel again, rules like mandatory mask-wearing still linger, and Cathay has said it will take at least two more years to fully recover. Other airlines are bouncing back faster. Like his predecessor, Lam grew up in Hong Kong and spent most of his career at Cathay, having joined as a management trainee in 1996. He is currently chief customer and commercial officer, as well as chairman of low-cost unit HK Express, which he helped integrate after its 2019 acquisition. He also spearheaded a new e-commerce strategy to expand non-flying revenue during Covid. Lam is only Cathay’s fourth ethnically Chinese CEO, and this is the first time the company has appointed consecutive leaders from Hong Kong. “I have been impressed by his long-term vision for the company, his intellect, and his determination to see the group succeed,” Cathay Chairman Patrick Healy said in a statement on Lam’s appointment. “He is without doubt ready to lead our organization.” Lam certainly has his work cut out. Story takes a look at an initial to-do list for the new CEO.<br/>