Aer Lingus appoints new Chief Financial Officer and new Chief People & Change Officer

Dublin, London, 10 July, 2014: Aer Lingus Group plc (‘Aer Lingus’ or ‘the Group’) today announces the appointments of Mr Bernard Bot as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Mr Federico Balzola as its Chief People & Change Officer (CPCO).

Mr Bernard Bot

Mr Bot was most recently Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Board Member at TNT Express N.V. (TNT Express), a publicly listed company based in the Netherlands and one of the world’s largest express delivery companies with revenue of c. €6.7 billion and approximately 53,000 employees. Mr Bot will join Aer Lingus as CFO on 1 September 2014. He will also be nominated to the Board of Directors. Mr Bot is a Dutch National.

Prior to the demerger of TNT Express in 2011, Mr Bot was CFO of TNT N.V. Mr Bot joined TNT in 2005 and served as Director of Business Control prior to his appointment as Group CFO. As Director of Business Control, Mr Bot’s responsibilities included internal control, mergers and acquisitions and business control.

Prior to TNT, Mr Bot spent 13 years at McKinsey & Company, the leading management consulting business where he was a partner serving clients in the post, logistics and transportation sectors.

Mr Bot has an MSc in Business Economics from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA.

Current CFO and Executive Director, Mr Andrew Macfarlane will step down to coincide with Mr Bot joining Aer Lingus on 1 September 2014. In the intervening period Mr Macfarlane will facilitate a detailed transition process to Mr. Bot as new CFO.

Colm Barrington, Aer Lingus Chairman commented: “Bernard brings significant experience in the transport and logistics sector to Aer Lingus and we are pleased to announce his appointment as our new CFO. Bernard’s experience within the sector and as Group CFO of a leading publicly listed company will complement the skill-set of our existing strong management team and we are delighted to have a CFO of his calibre join the Aer Lingus team. Aer Lingus’ international market standing and brand strength is reflected in our ability to attract industry leading executives to the Group.

I would also like to sincerely thank Andrew Macfarlane for the very valuable contribution he has made to Aer Lingus since he originally joined us in December 2009. Andrew has been an excellent CFO at Aer Lingus. He has been a key member of the management team that, over the last 5 years, has transformed Aer Lingus into a strong, profitable airline with a resilient business model and an improved cost base.”

Mr Federico Balzola

Mr Balzola was most recently Southern Europe Regional HR Director at Reckitt Benckiser who’s health, home and hygiene brands are sold in nearly 200 countries around the world with total net revenue of €10 billion in 2013. Mr Balzola will join Aer Lingus as CPCO on 1 September 2014. Mr Balzola is an Italian National.

While at Reckitt Benckiser, Mr Balzola drove the HR agenda in regions which included Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Romania and the Balkans. He had responsibility for talent attraction and development, compensation and reward, organisation change, engagement and industrial relations.

Prior to Reckitt Benckiser, Mr Balzola worked in senior HR positions in The Gillette Company then in Procter and Gamble between 2005 and 2008. He also had various HR roles in the Danone Group between 1991 and 2005.

Mr Balzola has a BA in Economics and Business from Université Paris IX-Dauphine, France and an MS in Economics from Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy.

Christoph Mueller, Aer Lingus CEO commented: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Federico Balzola as Chief People & Change Officer. I am confident that Federico will bring his significant international experience and skills to bear in addressing the next challenges of Aer Lingus in managing our people and change agenda. We want to become the employer of choice, further improving the engagement of our employees and embarking on a new and constructive discussion with our social partners while maintaining our differentiation and managing our cost. I look forward to Federico joining our Executive team.”