The three persons are Georges Greaux Jr., a prominent local businessman with vast business and marketing experience; Robert Budike, a financial consultant with a great deal of knowledge and experience in the field of finance and accounting; and Gerrit Draai, a veteran airline executive with years of aviation experience.
The Winair ad-hoc committee installed by Wescot-Williams in late October 2010 has strongly recommended these three individuals to the other Shareholder Representatives, the Dutch representatives for Saba and Statia, and said it was pleased that once again Winair's management would have the backing and support of a team of professional persons on the Supervisory Board.
The ad-hoc committee also requested that the airline management invite all Winair staff members to a second General Staff Meeting on Monday evening, July 25, when the three new board members will be introduced to the staff. One of the prospective new board members is presently off island on vacation from his regular job and therefore cannot be present at the meeting.
This will be the second general staff meeting for this year, in close collaboration with the union Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU).
Head of the committee Michael Ferrier said, "The ad-hoc committee looks forward to a positive meeting and wants to take the opportunity to thank, and at the same time congratulate, the three new members for accepting the board responsibilities in these, what could be considered trying, but not insurmountable times for the airline."
The new board will have quite a task ahead of it, trying to keep the financially-strapped airline afloat. The ad-hoc committee had already taken certain decisions, such as the cutting down of routes and the number of aircraft, and the board will be expected to examine those decisions and come up with a viable operational plan.
The Government Accountants Bureau SOAB, in its report on Winair of September 3, 2010, classified the airline's financial position as "alarming and lacking in cash flow to ensure that its operational activities can be executed at an optimal level."
The report pointed out that although Winair had been able to remain operational through not paying its creditors, among other things, the question was how much longer the situation could be allowed to continue without significant financial support and a comprehensive business plan.
Moreover, the report indicated that management and the former supervisory board had not laid out a specific plan of approach to take the airline out of its financially-strapped position.
SOAB noted that from the minutes of meetings of the former supervisory board, it was obvious that certain issues required more specialised knowledge and had not been discussed in enough detail. Although the financial situation was discussed during these meetings, possible concrete solutions were not identified by the board.
The SOAB report also mentioned that Winair must find ways to increase income and decrease expenditures structurally, and must determine what it realistically required in terms of human resources.
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