I was due to go to Madrid in May and Chicago in September. Flight cancellations meant I was able to ask for a refund. Had some trouble getting through but, in both cases refund was agreed and paid.
I don't believe the departure of Cruz is anything to do with the speeding up of refunds. The second time I called to deasl with the September flights the lady I was talking to said they were all working from home which was less efficient than being in the call centre. Add to that the number of calls they were having to take back in the summer compared to now and that everyone now understands the situation better and I would suggest that is a much more likely explantion.