Argentinean airport operator Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (AA2000) has announced that President and CEO Ernesto Gutierrez is to leave the company after 12 years.

 

 

The dynamic Gutierrez is said to be leaving to ‘take up other tasks relating to his participation in the Corporacion America group’ with the latter being the main shareholder in AA2000, as well as operating airports in Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil and Armenia.

 

He has now held the joint role for 12 years and has played a key role in establishing AA2000 as a key airport operator in Argentina. Under his stewardship, Ezeiza and Aeroparque, the two biggest airports in the group have been extensively remodelled. Ezeiza, the leading international gateway to Argentina is completing its renovation programme and the final stage of the expansion programme is expected to be finished towards the end of 2013.

 

Gutierrez’s role will now be split into two separate posts. The new President of AA2000 is Maximo Bomchil, a senior partner in leading Buenos Aires law firm, M & M Bomchil and Vice President of the Franco-Argentine Chamber of Commerce. The new CEO will be Fernando Pelaez, a veteran from Corporacion America.

 

Most recently, Pelaez held the top job at Corporacion America subsidiary UnitecBio, one of Argentina’s leading biodiesel fuel specialists. Previously, Pelaez spent five years as CEO of Puerta del Sur, the operator of Montevideo’s Carrasco Airport. Pelaez is credited by industry analysts with the task of getting the new Carrasco up and running within the agreed timetable and close to the original budget.

 

Although the announcement caught industry observers by surprise, local press reports suggest that Gutierrez has been looking for a new role since the start of this year. He currently holds several board appointments within the Corporacion America group and has business interests in a number of industries out with the company.

 

Gutierrez was also a key figure in last year’s $957m sale of duty free operations in Argentina (InterBaires), Uruguay (Duty Free Uruguay), Ecuador (Guayaquil) and Armenia (Yerevan) to the Dufry Group last year.