Nepal Tourism Board has new CEO

Kathmandu December 18- After a four-year hiatus, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has finally got a new chief executive officer (CEO). The NTB board on Thursday appointed Deepak Raj Joshi to the top post for a four-year term.

Three candidates—Joshi, Gyaneshwor Mahato and Gyanendra Tuladhar—had been recommended by the CEO selection sub-committee for the final round from among nine individuals who appeared for the interview this week. Among the three, Joshi outperformed others, securing 69.5 points.

The NTB has been stumbling along without a head since October 31, 2011, when the then CEO Prachanda Man Shrestha’s tenure expired.

Joshi, who has been serving NTB since 2000, has his tasks cut out. He is taking NTB’s charge at a time when the country’s tourism sector is facing multiple crises, first the April 25 earthquake and now India’s trade embargo. Joshi has envisioned four strategies—survival, revival, reinvigoration and building back better—to bring back the industry on the right track. Besides, his most important responsibility would be setting an appropriate “tone at the top” to shape a corporate culture with employees and other constituents as in many cases youthful executives are more apt to gain less respect. Hence, an organised and careful process is necessary to reshape the corporate culture.