The founding executive team of LIFT, including the former kulula.com CEO and LIFT Co-Founder, Gidon Novick, the former Uber Africa executive and LIFT CEO, Jonathan Ayache, and LIFT CFO, Justin Gordon, have stepped down from their management roles at the airline.
“As of 1 September 2024, Global Aviation, which currently operates the ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) division, has assumed management responsibility for the airline,” LIFT told News24 in a statement.
LIFT said Novick, Ayache and Gordon would focus on finding new aircraft for the company, and that, as of September 1, Global Aviation, which currently operates the ACMI division, had assumed management responsibility for the airline.
LIFT did not confirm whether new executive appointments had been made to replace the CEO and CFO.
Novick co-founded the carrier with Global Aviation, a wet-lease aircraft provider. He told Travel News that the three would focus on the future potential of not only LIFT locally, but also on the broader industry. “The key is to find the right long-term fleet solutions so we can build a sustainable solution for aviation on the continent,” said Novick.
The three will remain on the board of the airline and as shareholders.