Ahead of Avianca holding integration, GOL changes its CEO

After 10 years in the position, Paulo Kakinoff will step down as CEO of GOL Linhas Aéreas to become a member of the company’s Board of Directors. He will be replaced, as of July 1, 2022, by the current Vice President of Operations, Celso Ferrer, whom Kakinoff defined as «one of the most capable executives I have met in my entire professional career».

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Kakinoff led GOL during a key expansion process for the airline, which was not without major challenges such as the Brazilian political and economic crisis in the middle of the last decade and, much worse, the historic impact of the pandemic and the recovery that is still ongoing.

«We have a brilliant leadership team, and our Board has always been disciplined in overseeing a well-structured succession plan for senior management,» commented Constantino de Oliveira Junior, chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.»

«Kakinoff has been a great CEO for the past decade and developed an excellent group of leaders to lead our airline for years to come. We are excited about the opportunity to continue to work together on the Board,» he added.

This leadership change comes just days after it was announced that GOL and Avianca will now be controlled under a single holding company, called Abra Group, in what is the biggest shake-up in the Latin American airline industry in a decade. Oliveira Junior will be CEO of the new group.

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See also: The numbers of Abra Group, the new holding company of Avianca and Gol

«I am honored and happy about the invitation to serve as CEO. Our team of eagles is the core of GOL; they make the difference for our customers, and I look forward to serving them. We have a fantastic team of leaders, many of whom I have had the pleasure of working with for several years,» said Celso Ferrer.

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Celso Ferrer is 39 years old and a graduate of the University of Sao Paulo with a degree in economics and a degree in international relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. He has also completed an MBA at INSEAD (European Institute of Business Administration).

A Boeing 737 pilot, Ferrer joined GOL in 2003 and held positions as Vice President of Planning and Vice President of Operations.