Billionaire Rahul Bhatia To Helm IndiGo After Surprise Swing To Profit

IndiGo warned its capacity will reduce by about 10-15% in the current quarter, compared with the three months ended December.

Rahul Bhatia, the billionaire co-founder of IndiGo, is taking on a newly-created executive position of managing director at the company, after the biggest budget carrier in Asia by market value posted a surprise quarterly profit.

The appointment of Mr Bhatia, which is effective immediately, signals a truce with fellow co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, who had accused Mr Bhatia of corporate governance lapses. The founders were embroiled in a bitter public dispute over a 2015 shareholder agreement that Mr Gangwal said gave Mr Bhatia control over IndiGo despite the similar size of their stakes.

Shareholders of IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., in December voted to remove restrictions on transfer of shares that will allow Mr Gangwal to sell his stake. Mr Bhatia will now focus on expanding the airline in India and overseas, and build the carrier for the long term, IndiGo said in a statement to stock exchanges Friday.

Mr Bhatia will oversee all aspects of the airline, and actively lead the management team, Chairman Meleveetil Damodaran said in the statement.