Jetstar Japan’s current CEO Masaru Kataoka will retire on December 31, 2024, and be succeeded by Masakazu Tanaka, currently an executive officer in charge of structural reform, HR, and IT, the airline announced on October 28, 2024.
Tanaka, who is expected to step into his new role on January 1, 2025, joined the company at its founding in 2012 and has been in charge of a variety of functions including HR, IT, finance, and legal since then. His appointment comes “as Jetstar Japan enters a new stage of further stabilization of its business and future growth, having achieved profitability for the first time in five years last year,” said the airline’s statement.
According to the statement, “Kataoka will continue to support the company for the time being after his retirement to ensure a smooth transition.”
Kataoka, who previously worked at Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand, joined Jetstar Airways as the airline’s head of Japan in 2006. He then became Jetstar Japan’s chairman in April 2015 and CEO in September 2017.
