Biman receives 40 applications for MD

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has received 40 applications for the vacant post of managing director and chief executive officer.
A core committee headed by Civil Aviation Secretary Khorshed Alam Chowdhury will now make a short-list from the applicants, which include 26 foreign nationals and 14 Bangladeshis.
The short-listed candidates will be given a special problem-solving assignment to gauge their fitness for the role, which has been vacant since Kevin Steele, the first foreign MD of the flag carrier, resigned on April 19.
Based on their performance in the assignment, candidates will be invited for an interview, the final round of the recruitment process, said a top official of the civil aviation ministry wishing anonymity.
Biman Chairman Jamal Uddin Ahmed last month told The Daily Star that they are looking for a foreigner with experience in airlines operation and management for the post.
“We have received a good number of applications from well-deserving foreign candidates,” said a member of the core committee.
George Lewis Reeledar, who worked for 30 years with Air Canada and is now serving Biman as a consultant at the customer service department, is among the foreign applicants, a Biman official said.
Among the local candidates, former Biman MDs M Zakiul Islam and M Mahmudur Rahman, ex-Biman director of administration Abdus Salam and former chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh M Iqbal Hussain applied for the post.
Asked how long it may take to complete the recruitment process, the committee member said it might be done by next June.
Biman invited applications from deserving Bangladeshi and foreign nationals for the post on April 9. The last date for applications was May 16.
Candidates aged between 45 and 60 years and having a minimum of 20 years of experience in aviation, including 10 years in a senior management or directorial position, and with detailed knowledge of airline marketing, including codeshares, new online distribution technologies and revenue management systems, were asked to apply.
A director of Biman is currently serving as the acting managing director and CEO.