Peter Williams, Alpha CEO

TheMoodieReport.com: "Alpha set to bounce back from recent troubles, insists new CEO Peter Williams � 25/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Martin Moodie
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Alpha Airports Group CEO Peter Williams: �I have a very clear mandate from the board and am very clear what I am here to do for the shareholders.'

UK. New Alpha Airports Group CEO Peter Williams says the company is operating as usual commercially and well on its way to bouncing back from recent difficulties, including its continued suspension on the London stock exchange.

Williams, who spent 13 years at leading London department store Selfridges as CEO and (earlier) as Finance Director, took up the reins at Alpha a week ago following this month's sudden departure of his predecessor Kevin Abbott and Alpha Finance Director Heather McRae.

Those resignations were linked to the current investigation into the suspension of Alpha shares on 25 April, after auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) withdrew approval of the preliminary results for the year ended 31 January. That move was linked in turn to concerns over a new contract with an unnamed airline customer in 2005.

�This is a good business and I wouldn�t be here if it wasn�t a good business,� Williams told The Moodie Report, during an extensive and candid interview that we will publish in full next week*.

�It has an issue that it has to work its way through and we�re a long way into doing that. So my immediate priorities have been to calm everyone down � talking to people in the business, to suppliers and to customers.

�We want to make it business as usual as quickly as possible. Obviously while the shares on the stock exchange are suspended people feel a bit nervous. But fundamentall"