BAA hire Blair's former spin doctor
25.10.07
BAA has hired Tony Blair's former spokesman Tom Kelly. He who spent six years in Downing Street, most recently as the top PR man for the former prime minister. He becomes the UK airport operator's Group Director of Corporate and Public Affairs.
Mr. Kelly, a former BBC journalist, left Downing Street with Mr Blair in June and takes up his new post on November 5. He replaces Ian Hargreaves, who left BAA more than a year ago in the first wave of resignations after BAA was taken over last year by the Spanish construction firm Ferrovial.
His first order of business will be to help shape the response to an inquiry, announced last week, from the Transport Select Committee into 'The Future of BAA'. The inquiry will include a televised grilling of company executives, including chief executive Stephen Nelson. BAA has started providing evidence before two days of hearings set for 21 and 25 November.
Other issues for Mr. Kelly to tackle include the Civil Aviation Authority decision on profits and landing fees at Gatwick and Heathrow, which look like being set much lower than BAA had been lobbying for. The Competition Commission, meanwhile, is trying to decide whether the introduction of more competition through a break-up of BAA, which controls Gatwick and Stansted airports, would improve service for travellers.
Then there is the Stansted planning inquiry, which closed last week, and a public consultation on maximising the use of Heathrow runways (the so called 'mixed mode') and a third runway expected to be launched next month. In addition, he will need to turn around the criticism of BAA over the ramshackle infrastructure that greets travellers at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport.
Also appointed by BAA yesterday was Fiona Rodford as Human Resources Director. She joins from Alliance & Leicester, where she had been for four years, having previously worked for House of Fraser, Whitbread, Booker and Thomas Cook.
Stephen Nelsonsaid the new recruits would 'bring considerable strengths to the new BAA management team at one of the most important points in the company's development.'
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