Christchurch Airport CEO leaving next year

Christchurch Airport chief executive Malcolm Johns will leave the airport in 2023 after nine years to take up a chief executive role at Genesis Energy in Auckland in mid-March.

Johns has featured in EVs and Beyond over the years, including for Christchurch Airport’s Kowhai Park renewable energy generation project, electric aircraft, Ohmio Lift autonomous shuttle services, and electrifying its fleet.

“The board and executive have worked closely to build a strong team and company over the past decade, as the airport has navigated a number of consecutive and impactful external events, most recently the global pandemic,” says board chair Catherine Drayton.

“Post-earthquakes the company undertook a deliberate process of diversifying commercial risk, developing strong leadership across all layers of its teams and deepening its relationships with its customers.”

Christchurch Airport now has a stronger balance sheet than before the pandemic and a new post-COVID strategy that focuses on growing the company’s business at its Christchurch campus, expanding its horizons with intergenerational projects such as the Central Otago airport project and the recently announced Kowhai Park solar projects.

“Our customers, staff and business are well placed and the business is strategically and financially strong,” Drayton adds.

The board will seek a new chief executive and acknowledges Johns’ contribution to the team and wish him and his family well.