This Wednesday, the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the issue of political oversight of the administration of the TAP is hearing the former administrator of the TAP, Alexandra Reis.
We are talking about a controversial compensation in the amount of about 500 thousand euros, which he received for leaving TAP ahead of schedule, after his appointment. Fernando Medina as Minister of Finance.
Following the case, Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos and Secretary of State Hugo Mendez resigned. Alexandra Reis also left her post just under a month after taking office.
in a minute
Updated April 6, 2023 | 01:10
Alexandra Reis says the resignation for reasons of convenience, which involved a general meeting of shareholders, was a resignation that was preceded by an agreement. He says there was no reason to think of a different legal wording. He adds that he never had any indication that the guardianship would prevent him from leaving TAP.
He remembers two dinners with Medina’s wife, but rejects any relationship that was not professional. Alexandra Reis says she spoke to Stephanie Sa Silva twice in 2022, only at breakfast and lunch. Responding to a conversation with Medina about the appointment to the post of finance minister, Alexandra Reis says that the TAP privatization process was not mentioned.
As for the relationship with Joao Nuno Mendez, the current secretary of state for finance, he was very good at attending meetings with a few people, but only two meetings, “no more.” When he took the post of Minister of Finance, I spoke with him only about working issues, except for this cordiality there would be no relationship.
According to Alexandra Reis, during his work at NAV, he never felt any interference from the state.
Alexandra Reis says she has declared a net amount of compensation from TAP to the Constitutional Court. But “it may not have been clear that the amounts shown there included the net value of compensation from TAP,” he says.
Of the driver who was nearly fired for not being vaccinated against Covid-19 (and who ended up being vaccinated), Alexandra Reis says she was not aware of any family ties between the driver and the union leader.
Alexandra Reis claims she didn’t find out about it when she was on TAP, but found out after she left.
Alexandra Reis admits that she “really enjoyed” what she was doing and that she felt “successful” at TAP. The former administrator tells the commission of inquiry after being questioned by Filipe Melo do Chega that “during the pandemic” she worked “seven days a week, from 12 to 14 hours a day.”
Regarding Alexandra’s request for the opportunity to get a teaching role, she replied to Chege: “It takes me a maximum of 20-30 hours a year.”
On March 22, 2021, the Secretary of State for Communications informed the former TAP manager that NAV would need guidance and would know the company. Alexandra Reis speaks again in the exploratory talk, but not in the invitation. On July 1, he appeared in the NAV and did not speak with the ministers (neither infrastructure nor finance).
Alexandra Reis says she did not feel any political pressure or interference from the government on the issue of negotiations.
As for withdrawing from TAP, he admits that he could have done so without compensation if Pedro Nuno Santos had asked him to.
On command from Hugo Costa of Ps, the former manager again mentions that in a meeting on January 25, 2022, the CEO informed her that he wanted her to leave the company.
Since then, discussions on this topic have always been conducted by lawyers. Alexandra Reis says the CEO’s decision doesn’t feel like a team decision and she asked for confidentiality.
While continuing to hire people overseas, Alexandra Reis says they are mostly from the UK, France and one person from South America. In response, the deputy reports that “some people did not hide their closeness to the CEO” and that they are “transparent in their relationship with the CEO.”
As to the nationality of these people, he says he thinks “they were French”. Hiring has become “more expensive” for the company.
Alexandra Reis says she does not know if she has spoken to former administrators Humberto Pedrosa and David Pedrosa about their leaving TAP due to the company becoming a public manager.
During the course of the investigation, this time being questioned by BE’s Mariana Mortagua, she recalls a moment when there may have been a moment of tension with TAP’s CFO.
Alexandra learned from the team that she had received instructions from Gonzalo Pires, the financial administrator, to take over her portfolios. The manager ensures that the behavior was not “routine” and therefore brought the financial administrator’s attention to an executive committee meeting on January 27, 2022, shortly before her departure.
In response to a deputy’s appeal in connection with a specific complaint to the board of directors about the misuse of a car by a driver, Alexandra Reis reports on the situation with a driver who said that another driver uses vehicles that are not directly related to the company. .
He also says the CEO would have noted that the driver was not vaccinated against covid, but Alexandra Reis says he eventually got over the situation and the driver was vaccinated.
Regarding the disagreement with the CEO, the former TAP manager also reports that Christine Urmier-Widener I wanted to remove people from the company because I realized they didn’t have a “profile”. Alexandra Reis ensures that she always defended the importance of finding alternatives for these people at TAP.
In terms of compensation, Alexandra Reis admits that the amount originally requested for her departure from TAP was high, but so was the responsibility she had as an administrator. “If the plane crashed, the administrators could be held accountable for the crash.”
Alexandra Reis says she was aware of the company’s changes when TAP became part of the public business park on October 2, 2020, after PCP’s Bruno Diaz took over as part of the investigation.
Asked if her departure was related to her dismissal, resignation, or an agreement between the two parties, Alexandra Reis replied that her departure from TAP occurred after the note Christine Urmier-Widenerwho demonstrated this will. The conversation about resignation is preceded by an agreement. “The CEO asked me to leave the company. I did not take the initiative to leave TAP, I agreed,” he explains.
Even if you do not agree, you will return the amount indicated to you. Even if it is the result of a controversial opinion. Both the former administrator and lawyers disagree with the IGF report.
Alexandra Reis emphasizes the fact that she was compensated for the termination of her employment contract and mandate, justifying the amount she requested and the TAP counteroffer.
Alexandra Reis assured that the slot allocation process had already been completed when he joined NAV, eliminating the possibility of a conflict of interest.
He has no doubt that she left TAP at the behest of the CEO, but does not know for what reasons. He says he heard about the reorganization and profile on Tuesday, but the reasons are not clear to him. However, he highlights the warm relationship he has always maintained with the executive committee.
Alexandra Reis says it’s not entirely true that there was a discrepancy with the restructuring plan announced on Tuesday Christine Urmier-Widener.
Regarding the vote against the capital increase, Alexandra Reis mentions that she was the one who wrote the restructuring plan, despite various misgivings she had.
Alexandra Reis says she sent a message to Pedro Nuno Santos, the Minister of Infrastructure after February 4, saying goodbye to him.
He says he got a call from the Assistant Secretary of State for Communications. However, he claims that the government has not given any explanation for TAP’s departure.
Asked about the transition process at NAV, Alexandra Reis talks about another call she received on March 22 from Hugo Mendez, “a preliminary phone call about the possibility of joining the company,” she explains.
He later received an official invitation and says he accepted it, taking office on July 1.
“The conversation was of an introductory nature and took place before the government started work. But it was not an invitation,” Alexandra Reis said.
The former TAP administrator says she was surprised that Fernando Medina knew the reasons for leaving TAP.
Asked about disagreements with the CEO, the former TAP administrator says she never spoke to Christine Urmier-Widener about Zamna Technologies’ offerings and the CEO didn’t bring the subject up. The company was represented by Floyd Murray Widener, husband of Christine Urmier-Widener.
Alexandra Reis emphasizes that she has never spoken to the CEO about this topic.
As for the disagreement with the change of headquarters, Alexandra Reis says she had reservations about the change, as the TAP building does not involve payment of rent. According to him, this change will harm the company’s employees, especially at the stage of wage cuts.
He tried to find alternatives, but at that time the construction of an STT was not considered. None of the solutions were well received, and in the meantime, it appeared.
The first round of questions begins with Bernardo Blanco of the Liberal Initiative (IL).
Alexandra Reis says that prior to this hearing, she had not met with any MP or government member when she was asked about it.
On the TAP refund: “I’m still waiting for instructions to proceed with the refund,” the former administrator explained.
On January 25, the CEO explained to Alexandra Reis that she would hand over her duties to other people, noting that she wanted her to leave TAP. Personal conversation confirms.
Alexandra Reis says she hasn’t spoken to anyone in government about the departure until now, and the CEO has confirmed that everything will be agreed with the government. He also claims to have signed the agreement on February 4th.
Alexandra Reis begins hearings in Parliament, recalling her work at TAP.
“I have always expressed my views in a constructive way, even if they did not coincide with the new CEO,” Alexandra Reis said.
The former TAP administrator names seven reasons that led to disagreements with the TAP CEO, and emphasizes that none of them affected the implementation of the restructuring plan.
Alexandra Reis states that on January 25, 2022, she was informed by the CEO that she had terminated her relationship with the airline.
He accepted the agreement and compensation in the amount of 500 thousand euros. He claims that legal doubts arose in December of that year. It is assumed that you want to return a value provided for this purpose.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.