Wonder no moreby Fil C. Sionil
4 February 2022
What gives? Wonder no more. Here’s the back story on the resignation of Mr. Gilbert or GSM.
GSM, who was then described as the “handpicked nominee of PAL
Chairman and CEO Lucio Tan,” has caught the ire of the tigers (the upper
echelons) of the flag carrier when he recruited two foreign
consultants, whose pay scale believed to be at par with PAL’s top tier
executives.
Engaged were Christopher Gartner, a former executive of Etihad and
Air Berlin and Eric Anderson, who used to work with Delta Air and
Amerijet. Mr. Christopher is consultant for network planning and fleet
while Mr. Eric is for strategy and planning. During the time of Jimmy J.
Bautista these two vital functions were handled by only one person,
Lito Alvarez.
The uproar came when both foreign consultants came on board without
passing through the good governance committee. This created a snag and
when asked to justify and explain the circumstances behind the
engagement, GSM simply responded “there is no need since both are not
organic” to the flag-carrier.
My
lion’s ear or better yet my tiger’s ear (simply because its Lunar’s
year) heard that such a bit of a haughty response negatively roared
along PAL’s corridors, which irked some of the workforce, allegedly
tagging GSM as somewhat snobbish and a bit annoying.
As an avid observer of the flag-carrier, I remember distinctly that
any appointments and/or hiring of top tier executives/consultants must
pass through the scrutiny of the good governance committee and have to
be presented and its merits discussed in the board.
I am not questioning the qualifications and the knowledge of the
aviation industry of Mr. Christopher and Eric but it calls to mind a
similar incident in not too distant past and GSM was already the chief
steward of PAL.
Wasn’t
there a lesson learned from previous incidents that evaluating the
qualification of executives and consultants triggered a cerebral tussle
between one of the Tan heirs and the chair of the good governance
committee.
“Any plans and decisions must be presented to the board. If it’s not
acceptable, so be it. GSM bypassed both,” explained my muted source.
From what I’ve gathered, the appointment Capt. Stanley Ng, son-in-law
of the cigarette tycoon, sits well with the airline working staff. Very
acceptable.
He even impressed snooty board members with his updates on the
financial performance of the flag carrier. “He has been presenting
results of operations in the board meetings. He is very knowledgeable in
this field, very clear and simple in his presentations.”
In the last meeting prior to the verbal tussle on the consultant
issue, Capt. Stanley informed the board that PAL’s operations reverted
to the positive territory with more flights mounted as travel
restrictions loosened up.
Based
on the announcement, Capt. Stanley’s stewardship is temporary –
officer-in-charge. And from what I’ve gathered the appointment of the
president is subject to process by the search committee composed of
member of the executive committee with the young Lucio Tan III at the
forefront.
With Alert Level 2 in place, the PAL’s propellers will churn even
faster now amidst its provisional leadership. However, I wonder if the
foreign consultants will remain on board following the departure of GSM.
