Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, has appointed a new chief executive officer following Björn Näf’s decision to leave the business to pursue other interests, the airline said.

Samer Majali, former CEO of Royal Jordanian, will take over at Gulf Air within the next few months. Until then, Talal Al Zain, Gulf Air’s chairman, will manage the business in the temporary position of executive chairman, it said.

Näf has served the airline for two and a half years as CEO. During this time he was instrumental in implementing several key initiatives towards Gulf Air’s ambitious realignment programme, the airline statement said.

Al Zain said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Björn Näf for his leadership over the last two years and we wish him well in his future endeavors. Moving forward, we have important plans for the future of Gulf Air and we believe Samer is the right leader to take the airline forward as we move into the next phase of our strategy to rebuild the business.”

“I’m delighted to welcome Samer to the team as he brings an exceptional track record of successfully managing a leading Middle Eastern carrier.  His skills will help us to build towards a strong future for Gulf Air,” he concluded.

Under Samer’s leadership, Royal Jordanian was transformed into a highly successful and profitable business.  The carrier’s transformation has been driven by a comprehensive strategy to modernise the airline’s fleet and the reshaping of its network. His achievements include bringing Royal Jordanian into “Oneworld” in 2007, making it the first Middle Eastern airline to join a major global alliance, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service