fastjet Tanzania appoints four new Directors

RNS Number : 0772U

Fastjet PLC

28 November 2013

 



fastjet plc

("fastjet" or the "Company")

28 November 2013

fastjet Tanzania appoints four new Directors

fastjet, Africa's low cost airline, is pleased to announce that it has appointed four new Directors to the Board  of  its subsidiary, fastjet Airlines Ltd, in Tanzania.

Ed Winter fastjet Plc CEO and Kyle Hayward, fastjet GM South Africa, are joined on the Board by prominent Tanzanians Ami Mpungwe and Lawrence Masha who will serve as Non-Executive Directors. Angus Saunders, fastjet's Chief Financial Officer, and Richard Bodin, fastjet's Chief Commercial Officer also join as Executive Directors.

Mr Ami Mpungwe is one of Tanzania's most respected diplomats. He spent 25 years in the Tanzanian diplomatic service, including six years as Tanzania's  first Ambassador to South Africa.   In 1999, he received the Order of Good Hope, South Africa's highest award granted to foreign citizens for his contribution to Peace and Democracy in South Africa and in the SADC region and for establishing closer bilateral ties between South Africa and Tanzania.

Mr Mpungwe brings a wealth of regional business experience to the fastjet Board.  He is Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of AIM-listed Richland Resources Ltd and is Chairman of TanzaniteOne Mining Ltd, SAGCOT Catalytic Fund and MultiChoice Tanzania..  Other directorships include ILLOVO Sugar Ltd., Tanzania Breweries Ltd and NIKO Insurance Ltd.  Mr. Mpungwe holds a BA (Hons) degree in International Relations and Political Science and a diploma in International Law.

Mr Lawrence Masha is a prominent lawyer and businessman with strong political ties throughout Africa. He is Managing Partner at IMMMA Advocates (a member of the DLA Piper Group) in Dar es Salaam and has served in a variety of senior political positions in the Tanzanian Government. 

In 2005, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Nyamagana Constituency (the City of Mwanza) and between January  2006 and November 2010  he held the roles of Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, as well as  Minister of Home Affairs. Mr Masha has held senior positions in a variety of businesses within Tanzania, including being Managing Director of Tanzania Oxygen Limited, the first company to be listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.  Mr. Masha holds an LL.B (Hons) from the University of Dar es Salaam and a LLM in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. In 2010 the World Economic Forum nominated Mr. Masha as Tanzania's first Young Global Leader. Mr. Masha currently serves as Chairman of the Tanga Cement Company and Ecoprotection Tanzania Limited and is a Non-Executive Director of Basix East Africa Limited and Blue Financial Services Limited.

Ed Winter, Interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of fastjet, said:  "I am delighted we have two such prominent members of the Tanzanian business community joining fastjet's Tanzanian Board.  Ami Mpungwe and Lawrence Masha bring a wealth of knowledge and experience of the African, and specifically Tanzanian, business and political landscape.  We look forward to working with them to continue to build our increasingly successful airline. We are proud of the fact that fastjet has helped both democratize air travel and improve the quality of aviation in Tanzania. We employ a growing Tanzanian workforce - indeed we are currently looking to recruit an additional 15 East African pilots - and the people of Tanzania have repeatedly expressed their whole-hearted support. The appointment of two such prominent Non-Executive Directors is further testament to our commitment to Tanzania.

"This is a very positive time for fastjet.  As recently announced, we have recently started operating internationally with  our route linking Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg and the newly-launched Dar es Salaam to Mbeya route has been so successful that we have rapidly added extra capacity to meet demand."

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About fastjet plc

fastjet plc is the holding company of the low cost airline fastjet which commenced flights under the fastjet brand in Tanzania in November 2012. The airline introduced Airbus A319s into its fleet. And by adhering to international standards of safety, quality, security and reliability; fastjet has brought a new flying experience to the African market at unprecedented low prices. fastjet is implementing the low-cost model across Africa and its long-term strategy is to become the continent's first low-cost, pan-African airline. fastjet plc is also the holding company of Fly540, which operates in Kenya, Ghana and Angola.

The results of a recent customer satisfaction survey showed that 100% of customers were likely to recommend fastjet to a friend. In developing its strong brand and identity, fastjet has won and been nominated for a number of awards, including winning three Transform awards for the rebrand and launch of fastjet and the award for "Brand Strategy of the Year" at the recent Drum Marketing Awards in London.

fastjet plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. For more information see www.fastjet.com

 

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