Nairobi, Sept. 6 -- George Kamal was not prepared to lead Kenya Airways (KQ), even on an interim basis. But when the call came on December 15 last year to take over from Allan Kilavuka, he accepted it with grace, hoping to leave the troubled airline in a better place than he found it.

He had grand ideas about turning around the airline and growing it to comfortable profitability. Although he knew it would not be easy, he was determined to attempt what several CEOs before him had failed to achieve.

Eight months later, Capt. Kamal has flown away from KQ, leaving behind an ambitious turnaround agenda he believed was within reach.When he resigned last week, he told Business Daily that he had not given up on those ambitions, but had a person...