Fastjet strengthens board

Low-cost African airline fastjet (LON:FJET) has beefed up its board as it continues its expansion beyond Tanzania.

Richard Bodin, the company’s chief commercial officer, is elevated to the board, as is Krista Bates, who recently joined the company as general counsel for the group and who has been providing legal services to fastjet for the past 20 months through her role as a corporate consultant at a leading Nairobi law firm

Clive Carver, a chartered accountant and experienced corporate financier, joins the board as a non-executive director.

“Richard [Bodin] was a part of the team that developed the original fastjet business plan, and as chief commercial officer he has played a vital role working alongside me to prove the low cost model can be successful in Africa,” said chief executive officer and interim chairman, Ed Winter.

Bates’s appointment “deepens fastjet’s legal and strategic capabilities across Africa and the UK as we expand our operations and continue to develop strategies against Africa’s complex legal and political background,” Winter said.

“Clive adds essential and extensive city experience to the board as we move forward in this next phase of our development. His experience and reputation, gained working in corporate finance both with merchant banks and broker finnCap and his position as a board member on a range of companies will be a real asset to our board,” Winter added.

The recruitment of a non-executive chairman will be announced in due course, the company said.