The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday announced that Samuel Lin (林鵬良), chief secretary of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) board of directors, would be the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the soon-to-be-established Taoyuan Airport Co.
Lin graduated from Soochow University with a bachelor’s degree in English and has master’s degrees in business administration from both National Sun Yat-sen University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining THSRC, Lin was manager of Evergreen Marine Corp’s San Francisco branch, president of EVA Airway’s North American branch and vice president of THSRC’s operation department.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said Lin had a well-rounded portfolio in the transportation sector, having worked in the marine, aviation and land transportation businesses.
“He also initiated several important projects in the past, including founding the nation’s second-largest national airline and establishing THSRC,” Yeh said. “He is the ideal person for this position as he has some knowledge about the civil aviation industry, though he never played a prominent role in that sector.”
The choice of Lin as CEO of Taoyuan International Airport Co was made by a six-member committee formed by Yeh, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chang Chiu-chun (張邱春), former Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) director-general Lee Long-wen (李龍文) and three college professors.
Fifty-three people applied for the job, of whom only six qualified for a second-stage interview. The six-member committee then recommended two of the six qualified candidates to have another interview with Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國). Mao then recommended his preferred candidate and the final choice was made by the Executive Yuan.
While Lin will not assume his new job until Nov. 1 — when Taoyuan International Airport Co is officially launched — Yeh said Lin would start working on the preparatory committee for the company and in a special task force created to improve operations at the airport over the next three months.
Yeh said the special task force would include Aviation Safety Council Chairman Chang Yu-hern (張有恆), a former CAA director-general. Other members will include former Hong Kong Airport Authority CEO David Pang (彭定中), China Airlines president Sun Huang-hsiang (孫洪祥), EVA Air president James Jeng (鄭光遠) and two others.
Asked why he decided to accept a position with relatively low pay, Lin said his first job after being discharged from compulsory military service was on the ground crew for Continental Airlines at the airport, so there was an emotional linkage.
Lin also said that he aimed to make “integrity” and “discipline” corporate values at the airport company.
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