BA’s Swift move poaches a new finance director

British Airways today swooped on a terrestrial transport business to recruit its new finance director.

It has poached finance chief Nick Swift, 46, from bus and trains outfit Go-Ahead Group to take over from Keith Williams, who is moving up to become chief executive when BA completes its £4 billion merger with Iberia.

Swift has previously worked at buildings conglomerate Hanson and began his accountancy career at Air New Zealand.

He is likely to receive a significant pay boost moving to the airline.

At Go-Ahead, his basic pay last year was £284,000 and he received a bonus of £375,000.

At BA, Williams was on a basic salary of £440,000 and like his boss Willie Walsh (who is becoming chief executive of the holding company International Consolidated Airlines Group) he has turned down bonuses for the last two years.

Go-Ahead said that Swift would stay until its half-year results were ready and join BA in early March.

Swift said: "I've been privileged to work with some of the best management in the industry, and would have definitely stayed longer if the role at British Airways had not come my way.

"In the meantime, it's business as usual for me at Go-Ahead until March."