Rupert Hogg is to take over as chief executive officer of Cathay Pacific, taking over from Ivan Chu on 1 May 2017.

Hogg will be promoted from Cathay Pacific chief operating officer, following Chu’s appointment as John Swire & Sons (China) chairman, where he will play a leading role in the group’s Mainland China investment and development strategy.

Chu will also step down as chairman of Cathay Dragon but will remain on the boards of Cathay Pacific as a non-executive director and Swire Pacific.

Hogg will lead Cathay Pacific through its three-year corporate transformation programme with the aim of becoming more agile and competitive, and he will become chairman of Cathay Dragon and remain the chairman of the Cathay Dragon executive committee.

Swire Pacific and Cathay Pacific Airways chairman, John Slosar says: “I look forward to working closely with Ivan in his new role as Chairman of John Swire & Sons (China). He brings a wealth of experience doing business in China to that role and to our substantial portfolio of companies and ventures embracing aviation, property, beverages, cold storage, retail and food businesses in Mainland China.”

He adds: “Rupert brings an impressive level of aviation and business experience to the job. He has played a major role as Chief Operating Officer over the last three years and brings commercial focus and a spirit of innovation to our efforts to overcome the well-documented structural challenges facing the airline. He is the right man to lead our team.”