Easyjet has appointed Guardian Media Group boss Carolyn McCall as its new chief executive.
She replaces Andy Harrison, who is moving to the CEO role at leisure and hospitality firm Whitbread.
McCall joins the low-cost carrier following a number of changes at director level within the company, including the departure of Harrison.
It was claimed Easyjet's founder and majority shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou did not support the board's aggressive growth strategy, preferring to act more prudently during the recession.
But McCall, who won the Veuve Cliquot Business Woman award in 2008, is no shrinking violet.
She was described as "one of the toughest operators to have risen through the ranks of the Guardian Media Group," by trade publication Management Today.
McCall is also chair of Opportunity Now, which promotes business opportunities for women.