South African Airways’ acting CEO Zuks Ramasia resigns; to head BARSA from April 17
Acting CEO Zuks Ramasia has resigned from South African Airways.
April 07, 2020: Acting CEO Zuks Ramasia has resigned from South African Airways (SAA). She opted for early retirement and will serve till April 14, 2020. She will lead as the head of the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (BARSA), from April 17.
The board will make an announcement in due course on an interim successor during the business rescue process. In December last year, South African government decided to place SAA under a local form of bankruptcy protection as a last measure to prevent its total collapse.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Zuks for her leadership, passionate commitment, and selfless contribution during her illustrious 27 years at SAA. Her journey was truly an example of how a number of women are progressively moving up the ranks in previously male-dominated industries,” said Thandeka Mgoduso, acting chairperson of the SAA board.
Ramasia started as a cabin crew member in 1992, rose to the ranks of the senior cabin crew member, then safety and emergency procedures trainer, before taking up her first management position at crew movement in 2000.
In December 2005, she was appointed as head of SAA’s global operations control centre (GOCC), a position she held for seven years before she was appointed as general manager for operations in 2012.
In June 2019, she was appointed acting CEO and was also appointed as chairperson of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa in October 2019.
She advocated for the aviation industry through her various international directorial roles at the Coordination Services Limited and International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operations Committee. She amongst others, appointed Daicy Demas, as the first woman airport manager at SAA’s hub, OR Tambo International Airport, and Siyabonga Sithole as the first woman in the same role at King Shaka International Airport, in Durban.