Mueller starts new job as MAS CEO on May 1

German natioal Christoph Mueller will be the new Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Group CEO effective May 1.

The former CEO of Irish airline, Aer Lingus, will be taking over helm from Ahmad Jauhari Yahya who will be stepping down most likely in June.

"I am very happy to formally welcome Christoph Mueller to Malaysia Airlines. Some of you would have already met with Christoph as he starts to get to know our Group since his arrival on March 1.

"I am sure he will meet many of us over the next few weeks," said MAS chairman, Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof in a statement Friday.

Despite Ahmad Jauhari's retirement, MAS said he will still remain in the company's board as non-executive director until Dec 31 Dec to assist Mueller with the transition.

According to Md Nor, the decision to bring forward the transition between Ahmad Jauhari and Mueller was made by the company's board in a meeting.

Earlier, during the announcement of MAS' 12-point recovery plan August last year, Ahmad Jauhari was expected to continue to lead the company (OldCo) until July 1, 2015.

"The Board recognizes that it is crucial for Christoph as the leader of NewCo to own and drive the company’s business plan.

"With this in mind, the Board has decided to bring forward the transition between our current Group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari, and Christoph to May 1," Md Nor said.

The company's board has also decided to defer the date of commencement for the restructured MAS (NewCo) from July 1 to Sept 1.

"Whilst it is important to keep the established timeline, there must be careful balancing between getting things done quickly and getting things done correctly.

"We only have one chance and must ensure that our plan has the best chance to succeed," Md Nor added.

Mueller has 25 years of experience under his belt, making him one of the most suitable candidates for the job which has been dubbed as one 'of the toughest CEO jobs' in the world.

He was also instrumental in the turnaround at Germany’s full service airline, Lufthansa from 1994 to 1999.

MAS had suffered twin tragedies in 2014 with the disappearance of Flight MH370 and Flight MH17 being shot down.

The company has been in the red for the last four financial years and the latest turnaround announced by Khazanah Nasional Berhad last Aug 29, involving an injection of RM6 billion and the reduction of 6,000 jobs.