India, April 1 -- IndiGo on Tuesday named William Walsh, a former British Airways chief executive and the current head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as its chief executive officer - closing a leadership gap that opened three weeks ago when Pieter Elbers resigned in the aftermath of the worst operational crisis in the airline's history late last year.

Walsh, who is expected to join no later than August 3 after his IATA tenure concludes on July 31, brings to IndiGo a career that spans the cockpit and the boardroom. He began as a pilot, rose to lead Ireland's Aer Lingus, then served as chief executive of British Airways from 2005 to 2011, before spending nearly a decade as CEO of International Airlines Group - the h...