MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - The board of
directors of Russia's flagship air carrier Aeroflot on Thursday
accepted the resignation of CEO Valery Okulov and appointed
Vitaly Savelyev as the company's new head, a source said.
Savelyev is expected to take office in late May. Okulov,
who will step down on April 10, has accepted a proposal by
Transportation Minister Igor Levitin to become his deputy, the
source at the board meeting told RIA Novosti.
Savelyev, 55, first vice president of Russian holding
company AFK Sistema, who is currently on vacation, is to become
Aeroflot's acting CEO as soon as Okulov, the son-in-law of
Russia's late president, Boris Yeltsin, quits.
Okulov, 56, started his career in Aeroflot as an flight
navigator and joined the company's board of directors in 1995.
He became Aeroflot's CEO in 1997.
"The early termination of Okulov's term in office and the
election of Savelyev brings no changes in the obligations of
the company before creditors, contractors and labor. The
continuity of Aeroflot's development strategy will be ensured,"
Russia's Transportation Ministry said.
Aeroflot's shareholders are to elect the new board of
directors on June 20, a company spokesman said.
Aeroflot carries more than 10 million people annually and
a further 2 million on its subsidiaries. The airline accounts
for more than 45% of Russian scheduled international flights
and serves 96 destinations in 49 countries.
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