Air India announces senior level appointments; appoints Klaus Goersch as chief operations officer
Mumbai (PTI): Air India on Friday announced the appointment of Klaus Goersch as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, as well as various other senior level appointments.
In the newly-created position at the airline, Goersch will oversee flight operations, engineering, ground operations, Integrated Operations Control and cabin crew functions.
Air India said incumbent chief of operations R S Sandhu will transition to an advisory role.
In a release, Air India said Goersch's role includes focus on the harmonisation of the four Tata airlines' operating procedures, the Airbus A350 entry-into-service programme and assisting the team establishing the carrier's new training academy.
A licensed B777/787 pilot, he had served in similar positions in both British Airways and Air Canada.
Air India has also announced the appointment of Manish Uppal, who transitioned from AirAsia India a few months ago, as Senior Vice President for flight operations.
Besides, Henry Donohoe's corporate safety, security and quality role will be expanded to include emergency response. He title will be changed to Senior Vice President for safety, security and quality.
According to the release, the inflight product and service design functions being headed by Sandeep Verma will move to Rajesh Dogra's Customer Experience portfolio so that the latter has oversight of all customer interfaces.
Pankaj Handa will lead ground operations, Choorah Singh will be Divisional Vice President Integrated Operations Control Centre and JuLi Ng will be Divisional Vice President for cabin crew.
Goersch, Dogra and Donohoe will report directly to Air India Managing Director and CEO Campbell Wilson. The existing management committee members Nipun Aggarwal, Satya Ramaswamy, Suresh Dutt Tripathi and Vinod Hejmadi, whose roles remain unchanged, will report to Wilson, it said.
Handa, Singh and Ng will report to Goersch, as will Uppal and Sisira Kanta Dash, senior vice president engineering.
"These changes have been made with a view to managing succession, streamlining the organisation, optimising talent from within the Tata airline group and positioning it strongly for future growth and success," Wilson said.
About Goersch, Air India Chief said he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that is valuable to the ongoing transformation at the airline.
"At Air India, we remain committed to building top leadership as we continue to invest in all the resources that are required to take the airline to the upper echelons of global aviation," Wilson said.
Tata Group, which took control of loss-making Air India in January last year, is in the process of consolidating its airline business.
As part of the consolidation, AirAsia India (now AIX Connect) is in the process of getting merged with Air India Express, while Vistara will be merged with Air India.
Vistara is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines.
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Karnataka offers extensive incentives in its proposed IT policy
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has proposed a new Information Technology Policy for 2025–2030, offering extensive financial and non-financial incentives aimed at accelerating investments, strengthening innovation and expanding the state's tech footprint beyond Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Cabinet gave its nod to the policy 2025–2030 with an outlay of Rs 445.50 crore on Thursday after the Finance Department accorded its approval.
The policy introduces 16 incentives across five enabler categories, nine of which are entirely new, with a distinctive push to support companies setting up or expanding in emerging cities.
Alongside financial support, the government is also offering labour-law relaxations, round-the-clock operational permissions and industry-ready human capital programmes to make Karnataka a globally competitive 'AI-native' destination.
According to the policy, units located outside Bengaluru will gain access to a wide suite of benefits, including research and development and IP creation incentives, internship reimbursements, talent relocation support and recruitment assistance.
The benefits also include EPF reimbursement, faculty development support, rental assistance, certification subsidies, electricity tariff rebates, property tax reimbursement, telecom infrastructure support, and assistance for events and conferences.
Bengaluru Urban will receive a focused set of six research and development and talent-oriented incentives, while Indian Global Capability Centres (GCCs) operating in the state will be brought under the incentive net.
Incentive caps and eligibility thresholds have been raised, and the policy prioritises growth-focused investments for both new and expanding units.
Beyond incentives, the government focuses on infrastructure and innovation interventions.
A flagship proposal in the policy is the creation of Techniverse -- integrated, technology-enabled enclaves developed through a public-private partnership model inside future Global Innovation Districts.
These campuses will offer plug-and-play facilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning and cybersecurity labs, advanced testbeds, experience centres, and disaster-resistant command centres.
There will also be a Statewide Digital Hub Grid and a Global Test Bed Infrastructure Network, linking public and private research and development, and innovation facilities across Karnataka.
The government has proposed a Women Global Tech Missions Fellowship for 1,000 mid-career women technologists, an IT Talent Return Programme to absorb experienced professionals returning from abroad, and broad-based skill and faculty development reimbursements.
Shared corporate transport routes in Bengaluru and tier-two cities will be designed with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and other transport entities to support worker mobility.
The government said the policy is the outcome of an extensive research and consultation process involving TCS, Infosys, Wipro, IBM, HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HP, Google, Accenture and NASSCOM, along with sector experts and stakeholder groups.
It estimates an outlay of Rs 967.12 crore over five years, comprising Rs 754.62 crore for incentives and Rs 212.50 crore for interventions such as Techniverse campuses, digital grid development, global outreach missions and talent programmes.
