Ethiopian Aviation Executive Aman Wole Gurmu Appointed CEO of Zambia Airways,Third Ethiopian to Lead the National Carrier

Betegbar Yaregal

#EBR_News Aug 17, 2026

Zambia Airways has appointed Aman Wole Gurmu as its Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 August 2026, the airline announced from Lusaka on 6 August. Aman joins the carrier directly from the Ethiopian Airlines Group, where he built over 19 years of experience spanning airline leadership, commercial strategy, sales, market development, and strategic partnerships across Africa, Europe, and Asia.

According to the statement released by Zambia Airways’ Board of Directors, Aman’s career includes serving as Regional Director for Mainland China and Mongolia, Regional Director for France and the Maghreb, Area Manager for Zambia, and Director of Sales in Addis Ababa. His familiarity with the Zambian market having previously served as Area Manager there makes him a particularly known figure in the country he now leads the national carrier for.

Board Chairperson Jomo Matululu welcomed the appointment and expressed confidence in the new CEO’s direction. “This appointment reflects the Board’s commitment to strong leadership and our vision of building a competitive, safe, customer-focused and market-driven airline that connects Zambia to regional and global opportunities,” Matululu said in the statement.

Commenting on his appointment, Aman said: “It is a great honour to lead Zambia Airways at this important stage of its journey. Together with our Board, employees, Government, regulators and stakeholders, we will continue building a safe, reliable and customer-focused national airline that reflects the pride and aspirations of the Zambian people.” He identified safety standards, operational excellence, people investment, strategic partnerships, and customer service as his immediate priorities.

Aman is the third consecutive Ethiopian to lead Zambia Airways since it resumed operations in December 2021. Asrat Jiru served as the airline’s first CEO under a five-year mandate granted to the Ethiopian Airlines Group to nominate the initial chief executive. Thomas Gabreyohannes Woldesenbet succeeded him from April 2024, and now Aman takes over the role. The pattern reflects the broader influence of the Ethiopian Airlines Group, which has become a significant source of aviation leadership talent across the continent.

Aman’s appointment adds to a growing list of Ethiopian aviation executives leading African carriers. Tewolde Gebremariam has been newly appointed CEO of Air India; Esayas Woldemariam Hailu leads ASKY Airlines in Togo; Mesfin Biru Weldegeorgis serves as Director General of Air Congo in the DRC; Solomon Bekele heads Malawi Airlines; and Girma Wake has served as Interim CEO and Consultant at Uganda Airlines.

The pattern underscores how Ethiopian Airlines’ training and management pipeline has become a continental resource, placing its alumni in the cockpits of national carriers from West Africa to Southern Africa to South Asia.

Zambia Airways currently operates regional routes to Dar es Salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, and Nairobi, alongside domestic services covering Lusaka, Ndola, Livingstone, and Solwezi. Whether Aman can leverage his network development experience to expand that footprint further will be closely watched by the regional aviation industry.