British low-cost airline easyJet said today its chief executive would step down once a successor was found and that founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou was rejoining the board.
Mr Haji-Ioannou, the airline's major shareholder, will be a non-executive director with immediate effect but said he had no current plans to take the airline private.
"I would like to stress that my role will be in a purely non-executive capacity, given my business commitments with the 14 other easy-branded businesses," he said.
Mr Haji-Ioannou heads a no-frills business empire that extends from pizzas to car rental.
Chief Executive Ray Webster had been due to retire in 2006 after almost 10 years in the top job but decided now was the right time for the company to identify and appoint a successor.
The announcement of his departure and Haji-Ioannou's board appointment were not linked, easyJet said.
Shares in the airline were down 1.7 per cent at 241 pence by this afternoon.