KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 30): MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM BHD [] (MAS) unveiled a management structure with new business units, group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari taking on the role as CEO of long-haul and the departure of several top officials.

The national carrier said on Friday that deputy group CEO Mohammed Rashdan, who is CEO of short-haul, would head the short-haul, group finance, aircraft finance & management, and in the interim helm commercial.

Among the new business units were the network, alliance, strategy & planning division and programme management office. The divisions which would be renamed were communications to strategic communications and corporate finance as aircraft finance & management. Audit & business advisory would be renamed internal audit, reflecting the heightened roles of these business units required to support the airline's new business plan announced on Dec 7.

The national carrier said the new management structure, effective Jan 1, 2012 was to rally its staff and steer it into a new era for the success of its business plan.

In the new structure, customer experience, operations, human capital, network, alliance, strategy & planning would now report directly to Ahmad Jauhari.

Commenting on the new management structure, Ahmad Jauhari said the organisation structure signalled a new era for the MAS group that would further build pride for its employees and confidence for its customers and stakeholders.

'It involves the setting up of several new business units and the re-naming of existing functions as well as the introduction of new leaders to take over from familiar faces who have decided to pursue other career opportunities.'

'This will ensure both the smooth transfer of responsibilities and the successful execution of the business plan to enhance the group's reputation and significance for its eventual entry into the oneworld alliance by the end of 2012.'

MAS said the new organisation structure would also see with the departure of the MAS senior team including Datuk Dr Amin Khan (from commercial strategy), Mohd Roslan Ismail (MAS aerospace engineering), Shahari Sulaiman (MASkargo) and Datin Sharifah Salwa Syed Kamaruddin (revenue management).

'I take this opportunity to thank these colleagues for their many contributions, commitment and dedication to Malaysia Airlines and wish them well in their future endeavours,' he said.

Commenting on the network, alliance, strategy & planning division, he said it would support the effective implementation of the group's network to meet the dynamic needs of the market and to leverage on strategic alliances and partnerships with other airlines.

This division, viewed as a crucial game changers of the business plan, would focus on aspects covering rights planning, network, aircraft utilisation and strategy.

The programme management office would drive the implementation, alignment and tracking of key initiatives and activities to support the business plan's recovery phase and game changers to unlock and maximise the value of Malaysia Airlines Group.

Ahmad Jauhari said the MAS group's leadership team would be strengthened with the entry of highly experienced talents, namely Hugh Dunleavy to lead network, alliance, strategy & planning and Shihaj Kutty to lead revenue management.

He said Dunleavy, had more than 30 years experience in the aviation industry, and joined MAS 'with a solid reputation for delivering results in his assigned areas'.

These include strategy and planning, revenue/yield management, airline alliances, decision support systems, operations research and regulatory affairs.

Dunleavy's previous senior positions were at WestJet Airlines, Lufthansa Systems, Star Alliance, Air Canada and at PROS (Passenger Revenue Optimization Systems) revenue management.

Shihaj Kutty has over 15 years experience in aviation, specifically in sales and revenue management, as well as managing reservations and ticketing offices for major European and Gulf carriers while based in the Gulf region. He joins MAS from Etihad Airways where he was head of pricing.

Both report for duty at MAS by mid-January 2012.