North Sea helicopter operator CHC announced changes to its management structure yesterday under which the president of its European operations team will assume leadership of its global search-and-rescue division.
Tilmann Gabriel, who took on his current Aberdeen-based role a year ago, will move into the new post as the Canadian firm reorganises its operations.
CHC will separate its services into flying operations, including its North Sea offshore contracts, and the search-and-rescue (SAR) division.
The shake-up comes only a week after the UK Government ditched plans to sell the helicopter SAR service to a consortium, which included CHC, amid claims of irregularities in the way the £6billion deal was negotiated.
Last night, CHC said the management change had been months in planning and was not related to the firm’s involvement in the Soteria consortium’s bid.
The operator, plus the Royal Bank of Scotland, Thales UK and Sikorsky, could face legal action after a police investigation into an allegation that one or more serving RAF officers who were on the project team had helped CHC with the bid preparations.
CHC will continue to operate Sikorsky helicopters from civilian bases in Shetland and the Western Isles on behalf of the coastguard after the deal collapsed.
It is thought Mr Gabriel will divide his time between the north-east and CHC’s headquarters in Vancouver after he takes up his new position on March 1.
Scott Pinfield, managing director of CHC in Europe, has been appointed as interim leader of the flying operations division. He will also split his time between Aberdeen and Vancouver.
William Amelio, chief executive of CHC Helicopter, said: “Establishing an integrated flying operations division is the best way to provide a consistent, worldwide product to our customers while maximising safety standards and improving efficiency.”
Mr Amelio said Mr Gabriel was the right person to lead the company’s SAR division, adding: “He has done an outstanding job with European operations and his enthusiasm for growing the SAR segment of our business makes him the obvious candidate to assume responsibility for tackling the difficult task of growing this business.”
The reorganisation is expected to take up to 18 months to complete.