The Air France-KLM board has appointed a three-member management committee to lead the company temporarily upon the departure of chairman and CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac, who officially submitted his resignation on Tuesday.
Air France-KLM CFO Frederic Gagey will serve as the group's CEO, and Air France CEO Franck Terner and KLM CEO Pieter Elbers will serve as his deputies. The group will make decisions collectively, and all three will continue their current roles.
Board member Anne-Marie Couderc is acting as the board's nonexecutive chair during the transition. The board said the setup "is established for the shortest possible period required to effectively complete the succession process for the roles vacated by Jean-Marc Janaillac," and it will end when a new leader is selected.
This month, after Air France staff rejected a multi-year pay agreement that would have increased wages 7 percent over four years, Janaillac announced his plans to resign. A more lucrative offer seems unlikely, as the board noted that Terner "does not have a new mandate to take decisions that would jeopardize the growth strategy approved by the Air France-KLM board of directors." The pay dispute has resulted in 15 days of strikes since February.