AirAsia gets new CEO from exec recruiter Egon Zehnder

The former head of services practice for Asia-Pacific at executive search firm Egon Zehnder has been appointed as the first chief executive officer of low-cost carrier AirAsia India.
Thu, 16 May 2013The former head of services practice for Asia-Pacific at executive search firm Egon Zehnder has been appointed as the first chief executive officer of low-cost carrier AirAsia India.

Mittu Chandilya’s landing as airline boss was announced yesterday on the twitter account of Tony Fernandes, group CEO of parent company AirAsia.

Commenting further on the Chennai native’s arrival, Fernandes also tweeted: “Mittu is coming home to change Indian travel and make it affordable for all Indians to fly.”

Before his three-and-a-half years with Egon Zehnder, Chandilya worked for seven years in management roles with industrial products and solutions company Ingersoll Rand across Asia and in the US, according to his LinkedIn profile. At Egon Zehnder, he focused on the aviation and travel & hospitality industries among other sectors.

Chandilya will take up the role on 1 June.

NEW TO THE MARKET: 5-9 MAY 2025

This week’s new launches include: Heidrick & Struggles, Matrix, ProdigyPB, Project Brains

New to Market 6 May 2025

APPOINTMENTS: 28 APRIL-2 MAY 2025

This week’s appointments include: Eames Consulting, Faststream Recruitment Group, Gi Group, Heidrick & Struggles, Oyster, Starfish Search, Sellick Partnership

People 28 April 2025

APPOINTMENTS: 7-11 APRIL 2025

This week’s appointments include: Aspen, Eames Consulting, Sydney Mitchell, the rec hub

People 10 April 2025

CONTRACTS & DEALS: 7-11 APRIL 2025

This week’s new contracts & deals include: AESC, Dosen

Contracts 10 April 2025
Top