Ed Winter is leaving Fastjet today, less than a month after EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou called for his dismissal
African budget airline Fastjet has said its chief executive is to step down this week, less than a month after its second-largest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou called for his dismissal.
The easyJet founder, who owns a 12% stake in the company through a private investment vehicle, called in February for a general meeting to dismiss Ed Winter immediately. Winter is due to step down on Friday 18 March.
Haji-Ioannou had also called for the removal of general counsel Krista Bates and the appointment of non-executive chairman Colin Child to an executive position.
He said Winter had created significant overheads for the company, resulting in a high-cost base.
Fastjet said Bates would step down immediately and that Child would be appointed executive chairman until a new chief executive is appointed. The company declined to comment further.