Reporting directly to the Board of Directors of South African Airways (SAA), the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) provides strategic leadership and assumes full accountability for the safe, efficient, financially sustainable operation and growth of the airline. The role carries overall responsibility for defining and executing strategy, performance, profitability, governance, stakeholder confidence and reputation across all dimensions of the business, while ensuring disciplined delivery against Board and Shareholder mandates, regulatory obligations and long-term sustainability objectives.
The CEO is responsible for leading the airline to sustain profitability and best-in-class performance in safety, reliability, cost efficiency, customer experience and operational resilience, while positioning the airline as an employer, partner and carrier of choice in the global aviation market. The role requires the translation of Board-approved strategy into disciplined operational and financial execution, supported by clear performance standards, robust governance, customer-focused service delivery, employee engagement, and visible external leadership with shareholders, regulators, industry partners and the public.
The CEO maintains a collaborative working relationship with the SAA subsidiaries to ensure strategic alignment, effective coordination, sound governance, enterprise risk oversight, commercial integration and Group-wide value creation.
Principal Accountabilities
- Strategic Leadership
- Define, lead, and execute the airline’s vision, strategy, and culture in line with Shareholder and Board mandates
- Ensure delivery against the approved corporate plan and long-term strategic objectives
- Develop annual operating plans, capital priorities and measurable performance targets that support the airline’s long-term strategic direction
- Lead the airline’s positioning as a competitive, customer-focused African carrier in a global aviation market
- Drive transformation initiatives, including business model evolution and digital enablement
- Ensure strategic alignment across the SAA Group and subsidiaries
- Financial and Commercial Performance
- Hold full P&L accountability, including forecasting, budgeting, financial control, and reporting
- Drive sustainable revenue growth, cost efficiency, and capital optimisation
- Strengthen the balance sheet through disciplined cost management, revenue enhancement, risk management, and effective capital allocation
- Identify and develop new markets, networks, and ancillary revenue streams
- Present financial and operational performance to the Board, Shareholder, and key stakeholders
- Operational Excellence
- Ensure safe, reliable, and compliant airline operations, with zero tolerance for safety breaches
- Embed a customer-first mindset and translate the customer value proposition into consistent service delivery across all touchpoints
- Oversee continuous improvement in operational efficiency, on-time performance, and service quality
- Strengthen safety, quality and operational assurance by ensuring effective Group-level engagement
- Stakeholder and External Engagement
- Lead structured engagement with key stakeholders, including the Shareholder, relevant government ministries, regulators, unions, commercial partners, suppliers, airports, and communities
- Serve as the principal spokesperson and external ambassador for the airline with media, industry bodies, and public forums
- Direct the airline’s communication framework for significant business decisions, crisis events, operational disruptions and major stakeholder matters
- Build and sustain strong industry, government, and commercial relationships to support the airline’s strategic objectives
- Explore and conclude strategic partnerships where appropriate
- Governance and Risk
- Provide strategic advice and recommendations to the Board on performance, sustainability, effective governance, risk and growth
- Ensure compliance with all legislative and regulatory requirements including the PFMA, Companies Act, King IV principles, ICAO, IATA, AFRAA, SACAA and aviation regulations
- Maintain strong governance frameworks, risk management disciplines, effective internal controls, combined assurance, regulatory compliance, public-sector financial management and consequence-management disciplines
- Uphold the highest standards of corporate integrity and accountability
- People and Culture
- Build organisational capability and leadership depth to support current and future strategy
- Lead employee engagement, performance management, succession planning, and leadership development
- Embed a high-performance culture aligned to organisational values, ethics, and governance standards
- Ensure effective succession planning for the CEO role and the executive leadership team, with succession depth, development plans and clear performance standards in place
- Role-model ethical, values-driven, and inclusive leadership
- Strengthen critical skills pipelines, leadership succession, employment equity, transformation and workforce sustainability
Qualifications & Experience
- Relevant Bachelor’s degree in at NQF level 7
- Relevant Master’s degree, or postgraduate qualification at NQF level 8 or higher
- Aviation experience advantageous, but not mandatory – complex and aviation adjacent sectors ie, Infrastructure, transport, logistics may be considered
- Minimum of 6 years of Proven CEO / MD experience in complex organisations
- At least 12–15 years’ relevant senior leadership experience, including 6 years at Executive committee, C-suite, CEO, managing director or equivalent leadership level in a large, complex, commercially driven organisation
- At least 6 years demonstrated leadership in organisational turnaround, transformation or growth environments
- At least 6 years of P&L accountability across operations, commercial, and customer functions
- At least 6 years’ experience operating within complex governance environments, including publicly listed companies and/or State-Owned Entities, with regular engagement with Boards, Shareholders, regulators and government stakeholders
- At least 6 years’ experience in leading diverse, cross-functional, geographically dispersed teams and working effectively across cultures
- Demonstrated track record in a highly regulated, safety-critical operating environment with airline industry experience being a strong advantage
Knowledge and Skills
- Understanding of airline economics, fleet and route profitability, network planning, revenue management, safety and risk management systems, aviation regulatory frameworks, airline financial performance
- Aviation regulatory and legislative frameworks
- Aviation market dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and aero-political context
- Business operations and financial performance
- Airline financial models, revenue and cost structures, and capital management
- Governance, public sector accountability, risk management, and media engagement
- Safety Management Systems, quality assurance, aviation compliance, risk management, combined assurance
- Digital transformation and emerging industry trends
- Strong commercial and financial acumen
- Strategic thinking with disciplined execution capability
- High-impact communication, negotiation, stakeholder influence and engagement
- Sound judgement, decisionmaking, and problem-solving in complex environments
- Collaborative leadership at Executive and Board level
- Digital and data-enabled decision-making
Attributes
- Ethical, values-based resilient and inclusive leadership
- A visionary and commercially astute leader
- Executive presence and credibility with diverse stakeholders
- Ability to manage complexity and make long-term, highquality decisions
- Transformational leadership focused on results, people, and sustainability
- Visible safety leadership
Additional Information
SAA is using an online recruitment tool. Applicants are required to complete an individual registration profile capturing essential personal and career selection criteria. Applicants must please note that they only need to complete the online registration once and thereafter they can update their online profiles as and when necessary.
PLEASE NOTE: The onus are on applicants to ensure all mandatory fields are completed. Incomplete online profiles will be disqualified from the application process. Online profiles are used for screening and shortlisting purposes. A CV is only for verification and record keeping purposes. Applicants need to ensure that their online profiles are completed with correct and current information. Incomplete sections can disqualify applicants from the screening and selection process.
This applies to all internal and external applicants.
