Avalon Airport prepared to wait for new CEO

THE boss of Melbourne Avalon Airport says the business will not rush into appointing a new chief executive officer, and will wait to find the best person.

Tony Brun revealed in May that his last day as Avalon’s CEO would be on June 28, and board member Ari Suss is now acting CEO.

Speaking at the launch of Jetstar’s Avalon-Brisbane route, Avalon executive chair David Fox said finding the one person to take over as CEO of Avalon and all its facets was “really hard”.

“Aviation is one component, the development is another – when we pivoted after COVID, the opportunities to build warehouses, to build other components of this asset, are substantial.

“So it’s finding that balance, and Tony, Ari’s predecessor, came in and his job was to create the masterplan.”

Mr Fox said Avalon would release its masterplan for the entire airport precinct within the next couple of months.

“And it’s not just about aviation.,” he said.

“The reality is Ari’s learning a lot about aviation very quickly, he and Stef (Jetstar Group CEO Steph Tully) will get together and start having conversations and creating the opportunities.”

He said Avalon had $2.7 billion in opportunities in the pipeline outside of aviation.

“Where do you want to look to find the person who can oversee all of that? It’s going to cost a hell of a lot of money.

“Right now, Ari’s doing an incredible job, he’s a part of the family and he has been for just on 20 years, but to find a replacement is a journey we’re prepared to wait for.”

Mr Suss did not directly answer a question about how long he expected to be acting CEO, but said he had been on the Avalon board since 2008 and was very familiar with the business.

“I did say to David the other day I am enjoying it… I am two doors down from David, anyway, with other responsibilities that I have,” he said.

“It’s been good and I’ve enjoyed actually getting to know the Geelong community well and the Wyndham community well.

“With the advocacy of some of the organisations that are here, we are making it pretty clear to partners like Jetstar that there’s more potential, and that’s the key message we’re keen to make today.”