New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming merger between Air India and Vistara on November 12, the Air India Group announced several management changes on Friday.

Vinod Kannan, the CEO of Vistara, who is also handling the role of Chief Integration Officer for the merger of the two airlines, will keep that position after the merger. He will be part of the Management Committee and will report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.

Deepak Rajawat, Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer, will take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at the expanded Air India Express and report to CEO Aloke Singh. He will also support the Group CFO Sanjay Sharma in important projects and strategic plans. Vikas Agarwal, the current CFO of Air India Express, will move to a new position within Air India.

Capt. Hamish Maxwell, Vistara’s Senior Vice President of Flight Operations, has taken on an advisory role to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, while Capt. Pushpinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Air India Express, will return to piloting duties. A replacement for Capt. Singh will be named later.

Deepa Chadha, Vistara’s Senior Vice President of HR and Corporate Affairs, and Vinod Bhatt, Chief Information Officer, will move to other senior roles within Tata group companies. Vistara’s CFO, Niyant Maru, who extended his term to help with the merger, will retire at the end of his current term.

Other roles and reporting lines for Air India Group’s top executives will stay the same.

Announcing these changes, “Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD of Air India, said: “Over the past two years, the four Tata airlines have worked hard to prepare for and execute one of the most complex mergers in aviation history, consolidating from four airlines to two in the context of dramatic growth and wholesale transformation. As we now approach the end of that process, we are delighted to formalise a Group leadership comprising colleagues from all four antecedent airlines to drive the next phase of our journey.”

“I would also like to acknowledge those who, whether retiring or taking up other roles within the Tata group, have contributed so significantly not just to the consolidation process but, over many years, to the DNA of what is now the new Air India.”(With ANI inputs)