Kevin Steele

The first foreign managing director and chief executive officer of Biman, Kevin Steele, leaves Dhaka today with an advice for Biman to stick to his plan and make Biman profitable in 2014-15 fiscal year.
Sharing his experience in a recent interview about working in Biman, he had said it was not easy to work for Biman with a civil service unwilling to work.
He said, “What is killing Biman is the lack of knowledge among the senior management, like the level of directors, general managers and deputy general managers.”   
Steele was appointed in March last year with a two-year contract but he resigned citing medical reasons in January. He had a mild heart attack and was suffering from tuberculosis after joining Biman.
The Biman Board accepted his resignation last month with effect from April 17. A director of Biman is serving as the acting MD of Biman. The Board had requested him to continue for a couple of more months, albeit part time, as it looked for his successor. But Steele decided to leave on his doctor's advice to reduce his workload.  
In the interview to The Daily Star, Steele had said there was no corruption at the Biman Board but he maintained that the Board's management at the micro level was an obstacle to efficiency.
He also underlined that a lack of authority of the managing director was a problem. “I cannot hire, I cannot fire and I cannot even make changes as the Biman MD.”  
Steele suggested that someone who has experience working in the  sub-continent be appointed as his successor.
Asked about the allegation of corruption against him in appointing General Sales Agents, Steele said following the allegation he asked the ministry to investigate and a probe committee led by the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh found nothing against him.
On April 9, Biman put a job vacancy ad on its website. It asked deserving Bangladeshis and foreign nationals to apply for the job of Biman MD and CEO.
The last date for applying is May 16.