Rahul Bhatia’s leadership revamp reaches the finance office; Thadimarri is new IndiGo CFO

Mumbai/New Delhi: IndiGo on Monday redesignated its chief financial officer (CFO) and elevated his deputy to CFO, the latest in a series of leadership changes at India’s largest airline since managing director Rahul Bhatia took over as interim chief executive officer (CEO) in March.

The airline redesignated CFO Gaurav Negi as adviser to the managing director effective after business hours on Monday. Deputy CFO Kiran Thadimarri will take over as CFO and key managerial personnel from Tuesday, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The transition is the latest in more than half a dozen senior leadership changes at IndiGo since Bhatia took over in March following the abrupt exit of former CEO Pieter Elbers. It also comes ahead of the arrival of new CEO William Walsh, who is expected to take charge no later than 3 August.

Earlier this month, IndiGo appointed Kanwal Jeet Singh Bakshi as chief human resources officer, replacing Sukhjit Singh Pasricha, who resigned after serving the airline for more than eight years. Bakshi joined from Bhatia’s privately held InterGlobe Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, reinforcing the co-founder’s growing influence over the airline’s senior management team. Thadimarri, the new CFO, was also earlier with InterGlobe Enterprises.

The changes come as IndiGo executes an ambitious expansion strategy, targeting nearly 200 million passengers annually, around 3,000 daily departures and a fleet of more than 550 aircraft by 2030.

In March, the airline appointed former Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh as chief strategy officer. Around the same time, it named Walsh as CEO.

The leadership changes came in the wake of IndiGo’s severe operational disruption in December, when it cancelled more than 4,000 domestic flights, triggering regulatory scrutiny. The airline also removed Jason Herter, senior vice-president of its operations control centre, following directions from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after its investigation into the disruption.

Separately, Vinay Malhotra, the airline’s head of global sales, resigned in May, adding to the list of senior executives who have exited during the transition.

While the company described Negi’s move as a redesignation rather than a resignation, the latest finance reshuffle underscores the continued reorganisation of IndiGo’s leadership team under Bhatia as the airline prepares for its next phase of expansion under incoming CEO William Walsh.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent of IndiGo, reported a loss in the June quarter as costly jet fuel and increasing operating costs hit India’s largest airline, even as demand for air travel remained healthy. This was IndiGo’s second straight quarter of losses.

Indigo ended June quarter with a loss of ₹238 crore for the three months ended 30 June, compared with a profit of ₹2,176.3 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations in Q1FY27 rose 19% to ₹ 24584.1 crore from ₹ 20496.3 crore in Q1FY26.

The management changes come at a crucial time for IndiGo as it navigates higher fuel costs while pursuing an aggressive expansion plan. Analysts at Nuvama Research in a report dated 23 July said the airline remains well placed to weather near-term challenges despite pressure on earnings from elevated aviation turbine fuel prices. The brokerage believes IndiGo's dominant domestic market position and planned international expansion leave it well positioned to convert current headwinds into long-term growth opportunities.

Dipali Banka is a Mumbai-based journalist who treats corporate reporting less like a beat and more like a puzzle to be solved. This invariably means she has to read through annual reports and speak with leaders and analysts. She tracks policies, deals, and the pulse of industries spanning metals, mining, paints, and cement, alongside aviation. She started out as an intern at The Statesman and then completed her postgraduate diploma in journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, in 2025. Relentlessly curious at heart, Dipali is driven by the simple urge to understand how things work and who they impact. Armed with an enduring fascination for steel and aeroplanes, she moves through the churn of daily news with focus, turning complexity into clarity without losing the story. She is particularly committed to shaping numbers into objective narratives, having little appetite for vagueness that gets in her way.

Outside the newsroom, Dipali is an unapologetically loud presence who values long conversations and longer walks to unwind. She devours books of all kinds and can often be found indulging in the lyrical sway of contemporary ghazals. She ardently believes that her relationship with her bylines is more sacred than it would ever be with anyone across the human race.

Abhishek Law has spent 18 years in journalism, which in news industry terms means he has survived several newsroom restructurings, countless “urgent” press releases, and more cups of tea than he can reasonably count. Based in New Delhi, he covers aviation for Mint, a sector where aircraft, oil prices, geopolitics and airline CEOs regularly conspire to make his life interesting.

Most of his time gets occupied by translating airline jargon like ASKs, yields, load factors and fleet strategies into language that doesn’t require a pilot’s licence. His motto is simple: if readers need a glossary, he hasn’t done his job properly.

On most days, the quadragenarian is tracking airline strategies, policy changes and the occasional mid-air disruption that suddenly become a stock market story. When planes are behaving themselves (which is not very often nowadays), he strays into other corporate beats like steel, trying to figure out what’s really happening.

He loves to talk, especially ask—that one more question which people are uncomfortable with, and saving contacts in his phone as a "Source who may or may not pick up calls”.

But, on a serious note, the goal remains simple: cut through jargon, find that additional detail, and turn complicated business stories into something one can actually enjoy reading.

Stay updated with the latest Trending, India, World and US news. Follow CJP Protest LIVE updates as Sonam Wangchuk ends his 26-day hunger strike following government assurances, while the Jantar Mantar protest continues. Get the latest updates on talks between the CJP delegation and the Centre, the demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, possible arrests, Delhi security measures and developments in Parliament.