Anderson returns to cockpit

| 14/08/2009

(CNS): In the wake of persistent rumours over the last few weeks that Olson Anderson who had been CEO (designate) of Cayman Airways had wanted to step down for the management post and return to the cockpit, the national flag carrier has finally confirmed that he will not be replacing the former CEO Gilles Filiatreault as planned. The CAL board has now announced that the airline’s new acting CEO is Fabian Whorms.

The Board, now headed by Jude Scott, made the announcement of Whorms’ appointment on Friday afternoon, (14 August) and said he would take up the acting position with immediate effect. Whorms is the current Vice President of Maintenance & Engineering at Cayman Airways and has 15 years experience with the airline, and more than two decades in the aviation industry.

The new board of directors said they were looking forward to working closely with the shareholder, “(ie government) management and staff of the airline.

Following Mike Adam’s “retirement” in December 2006 after some two decades at the airline, Patrick Strasburger an American airline industry expert took up the post but departed after less than 18 months. He was then replaced by Gilles Filiatreault a trouble-shooter within the airline profession who took a short contract for six months in October 2008 with Anderson as designate. The idea was that when Fillatreault left in the spring of this year Anderson would be ready to take up the helm.

However, this did not happen and there have been indications for some time that Anderson was not interested in taking the top job and wished to return to his position as a pilot.

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  1. Anonymous says:

     I am suprised that no one commented on how much it as cost Cayman Airways to be training Mr. Olsen for the last year or so.

    Do you even realize what you are paying the consultant to try and train a Caymanian?  The cost is unbelieveable and you can see that the money spent was well worth it right?    If anyone at Cayman Airways had any sense, they would hire someone with QUALIFICATIONS of being a CEO.  You can’t go from maintence to running the national flag carrier without TRAINING.  Maye Mr. Whorms will prove me wrong, but my gut says probably not.  I hope he does prove me wrong.

     

    I don’t get it Cayman, your young people are given every opportunity to succeed and have positions whever they want, and they just don’t seem to care about those opportunities.  Where else in the world does the government give FREE money to EVERY Caymanian who wants to pursue their education?  No where, and no Caymanian has ever been denied the money to go back to school, none!

  2. Caymanians for logic says:

    Without knowing the capability of either Olsen or Whorms,(and not commenting on either) I believe we need to remove "being Caymanian"  as the prime criteria of the job descriptions in Cayman….We need to ensure that persons with proper experience and training get the job. Our primary objective however is to ensure that we train and educate Caymanians so they are the ones to receive the jobs.

     

    Too many times do we place Caymanians, who are not capable nor qualified to positions and expect them to solve complex business situations….they are guaranteed to fail.  At the same time we need to ensure we do not choose someone from overseas just because they are from overseas!

    Let’s do it correctly…and let’s educate Caymanians.

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    Wow! Appoint a foreigner and it is a disgrace and appoint a Caymanian and "they are being set up to fail".  What should CAL do?  Appoint an extra-terrestrial? 

  4. Anonymous says:

    One poster on here said, "Olson is too smart to take the job … plain and simple.  Firstly, money is not Olson’s driving force and number two, he does not suffer fools gladly."

    The person who posted those comments summed up very well the reasons why Olson is not now in that position. Thank you for enlightening the rest of us!  I am sure you are  "in the know". 

    So, ladies and gentlement, let us now move on and stand behind our newly appointed CAL CEO, Mr. Fabian Whorms, who is smart and qualified and has enough commonsense and caring for his country to realise the importance of wanting to take this important job.

    Obviously Mr. Whorms is also smart enough to recognise that part of the job IS to "suffer fools gladly", along with highly intelligent counterparts from other airlines and persons from the wider community. He is smart enough to know, you see, that even one who appears to be the biggest fool can sometimes pass on words of wisdom.

    Congratulations to you Mr. Whorms, continue to be smart, and yes, to "suffer fools gladly". Always be mindful of the fact that diplomacy will open doors when pompusness will slam them in your face.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Ah yes .. the irony of many of the sayings that older Caymanians cite when encountering some people and certain siuations!

    Someone mentioned one in a post here …..

    "Be nice to the people you pass on your way up because you will meet them all on your way down!"

    So true.

    There is also the one that says, "The higher a monkey climbs the more he exposes himself"

    … then there is, "What goes up must come down and sometimes when it hits the ground it splatters all around".

    Oh .. and of course there is, "What goes around comes around".

    So much wisdom we should make a point ot remember!

  6. can you handle the truth? says:

    and the booby-price for the Olson Anderson fiasco goes to…. someone of the former Board or Government!

    Airlines are highly regulated businesses, and persons holding leadership positions are required to have certain relevant experience. Unfortunately the previous administration did not examine the acceptability of Mr. Andersons resume, instead they appointed the man despite the fact that he had never managed anything (in aviation) other then an operating aircraft. It was hoped that the fact that he is Caymanian (with some very good connections) would sway the authorities into accepting his appointment . That did not happen, therefore, from long before the last election it was known that Mr. Anderson would not be able to go from ‘designated" to actual CEO.

    Now the new board (and Minister) were left to clean up the errors of the past!

    Hopefully Mr. Anderson has not burned too many bridges and is able to return to the flight line! as the old adage goes: be nice to the people you pass on your way up, because you will meet them all on your way down!

    and that is how the story goes!

    PS; no doubt someone will say that Mr. Anderson was VP of Flight Ops before becoming CEO designate, the fact is, he was in that position barely long enough for the ink to dry on his title sign.

    • irarms says:

      Mr. Anderson had all the relevant qualifications…CIAA has to approve the CEO appointment…take from that what you will.

      • Anonymous says:

        No he DID NOT have the relevant qualifications………and that is FACT. You are correct that CIAA has to approve it and they have specific requirements as they are governeed by the British authorities, and unfortunately Olsen did not meet these requirements and this has been an ongoing issue for many months….long before the election but no one would deal with it. They did not want to be seen as making another mistake, especially having to remove ANOTHER Caymanian….and one they put there this time!

    • Anonymous says:

       

      Re:  "Now the new board (and Minister) were left to clean up the errors of the past!"

      I hope when you refer to the errors of the past you are including the "new" Minister as well!! He had his chance at Cayman Airways before and I can’t say his performance then was anything to write home about.  Cayman Airways came leaps and bounds and advanced in many ways under the previous board and Minister more so than ever. 

  7. Anonymous says:

    Contratulations Fabian!  May God richly bless and guide you in your new position.

    Many, many Caymanians support you knowing that you won’t be too pompus to listen to others and won’t need to recruit your foreign buddies to try to displace fellow Caymanians who might dare to disagree with you at some point.  Unfortunately some of us who happen to gain a little experience abroad sometimes return when we hit hard times with the mentality that we know it all, and no one is as good as us. I’m glad that you do not suffer from that malady.

    Olsen Anderson served his time in the acting position and we should all thank him for his service. He is a Caymanian and was given the chance but what I heard, and of course I stand to be corrected, is that he was not fully qualified for the position and so the Head of the Civil Aviation Authority could not appoint him to the position.

    I have no problem with another Caymanian being appointed who is qualified and able to take the helm. So, lets congratulate Fabian and be grateful that another one of US is who has been chosen to replace Olsen. And, yes, Fabian IS a Caymanian.

    • Anonymous says:

      Oh Yes Oh Yes Fabian is a Caymanian but please please please tell me HIS credentials and what makes him qualified to take this position. What is his educational level and where did he get this experience to be able to be the next CAL CEO. Please tell us as we dont know.

    • He was says:

      born Jamaica actually.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Sad to see Olson go.  He was not given a fair chance and was a suppressed Caymanian.  I suspect he has just had enough of being treated as second class citizen in his own country.

    He didn’t bend for the politicians enough I suppose

    If you know the whole story, why dont you tell it so that ignorant people like myself can understand it. "Did Olsen leave or was he unable to wear the CEOs shoes and was forced out. Did the abrupt departure of the last Chairman of the Board have anything to do with Olsen getting cold feet. XXXXXX

    If you know the facts let us have them please.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Sad to see Olson go.  He was not given a fair chance and was a suppressed Caymanian.  I suspect he has just had enough of being treated as second class citizen in his own country.

    He didn’t bend forthe politicians enough I suppose

    Good luck Olson

  10. Anonymous says:

     

    No where does this article ever say that in fact Mr Anderson is returning to the cockpit, expect in the title of course.  The article only says what the plan had been, what the rumors were and that he will not be CEO.  So did he really decide to go back to the cockpit? and is he being allowed to? 

    CNS?

  11. Dennie Warren Jr. says:
     
    Congratulations on your appointment Mr. Whorms!
  12. Anonymous says:

    No surprises there.  Olson is too smart to take the job … plain and simple.  Firstly, money is not Olson’s driving force and number two, he does not suffer fools gladly.  Enough said.  Way to go Olson Anderson, you just went up a peg in my book.

  13. Anonymous says:

     Another Caymanian (Whorms) is set up to fail!!! again!  You can know how to fly a plane and to  fix a plane but if you dont have a full and overall  grasp of the business……………you will fail! 

    Is this your wish or are you making a bet on this one "SAD"

    Put your money where your mouth is or stfu.

  14. Anonymous says:

    To the one that wrote No disrespect Mr. Whorms. I believe that you are the type of person that enjoys seeing foreigners make it farther than the local man. Look at the Amercian Airlane "expert", what did he do? Like the artical above says in black and white he departed. In case you are unaware to the meaning of that he left. If there is a CAYMANIAN suitable for the job give them a shot. There is no need to go out looking for someone with the capabilaties to fill the position if you have someone already working with the airline.

    • Anonymous says:

      Fabian Whorms is a Jamaican with Status.  He came from Air Jamaica

    • Anonymous says:

      You did obviously not read my first letter properly or didn’t grasp what I have mentioned.

      I very clearly mentioned that the last CEO (meaning Strasburger) was a mistake and a Joke! I am the last one that would not endorse a Caymanian for any Job, provided he or she has the proper qualifications and experience to go with it. Let me ask you one question; if you would own a large Resort 500 Rooms plus 6-700 plus Associates and in need of an MD or GM would you promote the Chief Engineer or the Executive Chef ( no matter what National) to that position? I would think not, that does not mean that they are stupid, no they are maybe the best Department Heads in your team and very essential to the Operation,but they dont have the appropriate overall qualifications etc. etc. to be the MD or the GM, simple as that. Lets’ consider you want to groom a Caymanian for this Position, great but this is certainly not the way and not fair to that Individual either!!! Promoted as dumped in to the Deep-fryer, set up to perform badly simular as the previous ones and then ask to resign or whatever else comes in handy. Next time and before you reply read the message cleary and engage your brain, have a nice day!

  15. Anonymous says:

    Oh, I think Mr. Whorms has been a very well thought out candidate, even shortlisted by the last goverment?

  16. Anonymous says:

    No disrespect to Mr. Whorms, but this is yet another bad Joke in the History of CAL. Just too many hasty, ill and not very well thought out decission for this position have been made; ever since Mike Adams “has left”, by the past and it seems by the present new Government as well now. When are you all going to learn your lesson and hire the right Person finally!!??
    Find him/her soon or there will be no CAL,,,the over-draft will soon be to big to carry on!!??
    You will have to find this Person that still has a job from another successful Airline not from a Webside add posting “Please hire Me”….what a joke that and he was!!!
    Once you have found and hired that Person please give him a proper Plan and the proper Authority to implement that Plan with your full support. Then please all of you Politicians, make him do his Job and step aside, even if you may loose a few Votes!!! It may just save CAL and the Tax payers alot of $$$!
    It can be done in time, but not while you are running a Popularity Contest and loosing Money right left and center.

  17. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if this is the full story? Sounds too polished.

  18. sad says:

    Another Caymanian (Whorms) is set up to fail!!! again!  You can know how to fly a plane and to  fix a plane but if you dont have a full and overall  grasp of the business……………you will fail! 

    • Anonymous says:

      Look around you sad. The Whorms family is one of the most intelligent and productive Caymanian families.

      I dont know where you got your info from but you may eat your words at the end of the day.

      Dont put it beyond Fabian Whorms to do well for the airline.

      • Anonymous says:

        its not what Fabian is capable of, its what they will allow him to do. Cayman Airways is a political football

    • Anonymous says:

      Olsen Anderson has given many years to the airline, as has Mike Adam, and Fabian Whorms…for the love of Cayman Airways…It is not an easy post to assume…Ask any of them. As an alumni of KX, I have seen many "experts" come and go with much heralded aviation experience. But there is nothing like having a dedicated insider, rathersomeone from abroad, trying to figure  out the politics and so forth. I feel thankful that there is still a culture at the airline that come what may, this is OUR airline and one of the last things that we can call our own….Congratulations and thanks to all of the KX Management and staff that continue to put KX first. The rest of the businesses and government as well could learn a few things about pride and loyalty by looking at our national carrier…When the chips are down, over the years  the employees of Cayman Airways  forgo raises, take demotions, close offices, eliminate Christmas pasrties, hold fund raisers and do anything at all possible to save their positions, and OUR airline…They have been doing this for years…especially during election cycles. Don’t bash them, learn from them…They run the airline in a perpetual "recession".

      Bless them all.