IndiGo promoter feud to not affect airline's functioning, CEO assures employees
Even as the co-founders of Indigo airline, Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, have taken their internal quarrel to the open, there were fears that the day to day management of the airline could be affected. The CEO of the company has now issued a statement to the employees of the airline to disregard the differences among the directors and carry on with their duties as usual.
CEO Ronjoy Dutta has stated in his communication that two promoters will be able to sort out their issues and the spat must not come in the way of the employees giving off their best at work. He has said there is absolutely no deviation from the mission and the strategy the company has adopted and nothing changes.
Addressing the employees of InterGlobe Aviation, Datta is quoted as saying, “I will just go about doing my job to the best of my abilities, and I know I can count on you to do the same”. That is expected to go directly to the hearts and minds of the employees and strike a chord. He has exhorted them all to remain focused on running a high-performance airline as they have been doing all along. He has thanked them for their dedication as well.
The CEO has had to issue this statement following media reports of one of the promoters of Indigo airline, writing to the Chairman of Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajay Tyagi, pointing out certain governance issues in the company. He has singled out certain related party transactions amounting to around Rs 227 crore. Rakesh Gangwal has accused his co-promoter Rahul Bhatia of taking arbitrary decisions and has questioned the unfettered authority he is wielding within the company’s Board.
This spat also took a major toll on the company’s stock which fell drastically through the day on Wednesday, closing 11% lower at Rs 1,398. On Friday too, as of 10am, it was trading over 4% lower.
SEBI has asked Bhatia to send in a reply before July 19. Bhatia has already publicly dismissed the allegations of Gangwal.