GOL Linhas Aéreas is reshaping its top leadership, naming André Fehlauer as chief executive and expanding Albert Perez’s role to president and chief operating officer. Current CEO Celso Ferrer will leave the Brazilian carrier on 31 August to take charge of Boeing’s business in Latin America and the Caribbean, while Fehlauer is due to start in September. The move keeps operations under Perez as GOL manages a rare executive handover at the top of the airline.
Fehlauer returns to GOL’s orbit after previous leadership roles at Smiles in Brazil and Argentina and a stint as president of Livelo. His appointment brings an experienced Brazilian aviation and loyalty-sector executive back into the airline’s management structure at a time when the carrier is balancing continuity in operations with a wider leadership transition.
Perez’s promotion signals that GOL wants to preserve operational stability during the changeover. Keeping the COO in an enlarged leadership role should help maintain oversight of day-to-day flying, network management and service delivery while the new chief executive settles in. Ferrer’s move to Boeing also creates a direct industry crossover between a major Latin American airline and a global aircraft manufacturer.