AirAsia Expedia Appoints Kathleen Tan as CEO

AirAsia Expedia (AAE), has appointed Kathleen Tan as Chief Executive Officer.

In this role, Kathleen will oversee the Expedia brand, AirAsiaGo, and Backick online travel agency (OTA) businesses in Southeast Asia, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia group President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are thrilled to have a business leader of Kathleen’s caliber join the AirAsia Expedia joint venture. She has an impressive track record in building AirAsia into Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier over the past eight years, and we are delighted to have those skills brought to the AirAsia Expedia joint venture. Furthermore, her substantial knowledge of Asia’s travel landscape and proven business acumen will be immensely valuable in taking AAE to future heights.”

Kathleen previously served as AirAsia’s Group Head of Commercial and Senior Vice President of China since 2004, acting as Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Tony Fernandes’s right-hand woman managing AirAsia’s top-line performance and overseeing up to fifteen departments across the six AirAsia-branded airlines. During the past eight years, Kathleen’s strategic vision, boldness, and leadership have grown AirAsia’s revenue twenty-fold to over RM 10 Billion (US$ 3.5 Billion) in 2012. Kathleen has scaled up AirAsia’s network from less than twenty planes to nearly 130 planes, creating one of the leading low-cost carriers in the world. AirAsia has won numerous accolades, culminating in being named “World’s Best Low Cost Carrier” an unprecedented four years running by Skytrax, and the brand equity is now valued at an impressive US$428 Million by Brand Finance Plc. As such, Kathleen is a highly-respected figure in the travel industry, including being named a Top 10 Most Influential Woman Leader in Travel by WebInTravel and being dubbed an “aviation legend” by Baidu, China’s largest search engine.

Kathleen has always been a pioneer, from having the foresight to spot the immense potential of China and making AirAsia the first low-cost carrier serving China in 2005, to driving product innovation, including assigned seating, mobile booking, and ancillary sales online. She has also spearheaded AirAsia’s social media strategy and development early on.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer said, “Kathleen came to Malaysia not knowing anything about aviation, but her determination has led her to overcome every challenge and today she holds the pulse of Asia’s travel market. As AirAsia progress towards the second decade of success, we feel comfortable in letting Kathleen move to AirAsia Expedia. Our focus for the next five years is ancillary and adjacent business. The potential of AirAsia Expedia is enormous. Having Kathleen driving the business gives me huge encouragement and I am sure AAE and the OTA industry will escalate tremendously when Kathleen gets to work her unique style of brand-building, sales and profits growth.”

Kathleen is no stranger to the OTA industry, having managed the AirAsiaGo OTA business profitably prior to it being transferred to the AAE joint venture upon formation. She drove the joint venture formation discussions with the Expedia group, representing AirAsia, and has served on AAE’s board of directors since day one.

On her part, Kathleen said, “The last eight years in AirAsia have been the most awesome ride I ever had in my career. I thank Tony, Kamarudin and the AirAsia Board, who always have had the greatest faith in me and have given me the opportunity to fly high in the world of AirAsia. And a big thank you to my wonderful commercial staff and Allstars in AirAsia who embraced and inspired me every day. I am truly delighted to take on a new challenge in the OTA industry which is a natural progression, as travel still excites me greatly. Indeed, it’s a big honour to work for two of the world's most powerful brands and I'm excited by my new appointment. I look forward to taking AAE to another level and build further growth.”