Naresh Goyal on Monday said no sacrifice is too big for him to safeguard the interest of the airline and the families of its 22,000 employees. “For the sake of my 22,000 employees and their respective families, I have today taken the step of stepping down from the board of Jet Airways,” he said in a statement issued by the airline.
He became chairman of the company in April 1992. “My family is behind me and with me in this decision and I hope you will support my decision too. I will miss you one and all,” Goyal said. He was India’s 16th richest person according to Forbes magazine in 2005. He currently does not feature in the list.
The son of a jewellery merchant, Goyal dabbled as a public relations manager for Iraqi Airways and also worked as a regional manager for Philippine Airlines before launching Jet Airways.”With Goyal stepping down, the company can engineer a comeback and revive the airlines,” Devesh Agarwal, editor of the Bangalore Aviation website, said.
‘‘Ultimately, banks will own the airline now and need to find the right leadership immediately and inject funds to contain the crisis,” Agarwal added. SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said Goyal will be eligible to bid for takeover of the oldest private carrier when the lenders auction it next month.
