Rahul Bhatia’s leadership revamp reaches the finance office; Thadimarri is new IndiGo CFO

Mumbai/New Delhi: IndiGo on Monday redesignated its chief financial officer (CFO) and elevated his deputy to CFO, the latest in a series of leadership changes at India’s largest airline since managing director Rahul Bhatia took over as interim chief executive officer (CEO) in March.

The airline redesignated CFO Gaurav Negi as adviser to the managing director effective after business hours on Monday. Deputy CFO Kiran Thadimarri will take over as CFO and key managerial personnel from Tuesday, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The transition is the latest in more than half a dozen senior leadership changes at IndiGo since Bhatia took over in March following the abrupt exit of former CEO Pieter Elbers. It also comes ahead of the arrival of new CEO William Walsh, who is expected to take charge no later than 3 August.

Earlier this month, IndiGo appointed Kanwal Jeet Singh Bakshi as chief human resources officer, replacing Sukhjit Singh Pasricha, who resigned after serving the airline for more than eight years. Bakshi joined from Bhatia’s privately held InterGlobe Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, reinforcing the co-founder’s growing influence over the airline’s senior management team. Thadimarri, the new CFO, was also earlier with InterGlobe Enterprises.

Ambitious expansion

The changes come as IndiGo executes an ambitious expansion strategy, targeting nearly 200 million passengers annually, around 3,000 daily departures and a fleet of more than 550 aircraft by 2030.

In March, the airline appointed former Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh as chief strategy officer. Around the same time, it named Walsh as CEO.

The leadership changes came in the wake of IndiGo’s severe operational disruption in December, when it cancelled more than 4,000 domestic flights, triggering regulatory scrutiny. The airline also removed Jason Herter, senior vice-president of its operations control centre, following directions from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after its investigation into the disruption.

Widening list

Separately, Vinay Malhotra, the airline’s head of global sales, resigned in May, adding to the list of senior executives who have exited during the transition.

While the company described Negi’s move as a redesignation rather than a resignation, the latest finance reshuffle underscores the continued reorganisation of IndiGo’s leadership team under Bhatia as the airline prepares for its next phase of expansion under incoming CEO William Walsh.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent of IndiGo, reported a loss in the June quarter as costly jet fuel and increasing operating costs hit India’s largest airline, even as demand for air travel remained healthy. This was IndiGo’s second straight quarter of losses.

Indigo ended June quarter with a loss of ₹238 crore for the three months ended 30 June, compared with a profit of ₹2,176.3 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations in Q1FY27 rose 19% to ₹ 24584.1 crore from ₹ 20496.3 crore in Q1FY26.

The management changes come at a crucial time for IndiGo as it navigates higher fuel costs while pursuing an aggressive expansion plan. Analysts at Nuvama Research in a report dated 23 July said the airline remains well placed to weather near-term challenges despite pressure on earnings from elevated aviation turbine fuel prices. The brokerage believes IndiGo’s dominant domestic market position and planned international expansion leave it well positioned to convert current headwinds into long-term growth opportunities.