TWA chief quits after eight months

Troubled airline TWA’s international managing director for sales and marketing, David Richard, has quit after only eight months in the job.

Managers at the international division near Heathrow will now report directly to the company’s headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, in the US.

Richard officially left “to pursue his own interests”. He was promoted to the post last May following a five-month search for an executive.

Before joining TWA, Richard was British Airways’ multinational sales manager.

TWA switched its $50m (£33m) global account to D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, from Bates Worldwide, last October (MW October 21).

The account changed hands as part of a major overhaul of the firm’s marketing strategy. TWA, which only emerged from bankruptcy 15 months ago, will now focus on destination and pricing rather than product-led campaigns.