LONDON: The former chief executive of bankrupt travel firm Thomas Cook said on Tuesday he understood public anger over his pay but defended his record, saying he had worked tirelessly to try to save the company.
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed last month after it failed to finalise a restructuring plan, stranding over a hundred thousand passengers.
Peter Fankhauser (pictured) apologised again to customers, staff and suppliers as he appeared before a parliamentary committee, and said that responsibility for the collapse was shared among several parties who tried, and failed, to agree the rescue deal.
Asked about his salary, which totalled 1.02 million pounds in 2018 including pension and benefits, Fankhauser said he did not set his own pay or decide any bonus. “I’m not going to try and defend my base pay, because in relation to a normal worker’s base salary, this is an enormous amount... I fully understand the sentiment in the public,” he said.
“However, what I can say to that is that I worked tirelessly for the success of this company and I’m deeply sorry that I was not able to secure the deal.” Fankhauser said his efforts to transform the company after his appointment in 2014 had been constrained by its debts. — Reuters
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