Former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Air Marshal (retd) Jeetendra Mishra has been appointed as the first full-time chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ram Temple on Wednesday.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust appointed him as the first full-time CEO from a shortlist of three candidates picked from 5,585 applications. He was the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command before his retirement.
The appointment was made during the meeting of the trust, which took place in the wake of the controversy over the alleged embezzlement of temple donations that led to the arrest of eight people and the resignation of Champat Rai as general secretary.
The appointment of a retired IAF officer is expected to boost the confidence in the wake of the scandal, as it was observed earlier that a full-time CEO is important to ensure professional administration and transparency to the board.
About Air Marshal (retd) Jeetendra Mishra
The Air Marshal was commissioned into the IAF as a fighter pilot on 06 December 1986.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy Pune, Air Force Test Pilots School, Bangalore, Air Command and Staff College, USA and Royal College of Defence Studies, UK, he held several leadership positions during his service career spanning nearly four decades. These included Commanding Officer of a Fighter Squadron, Chief Test Pilot at Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Air Officer Commanding of two frontline air bases, Director (Operational Planning and Assessment Group), Principal Director (ASR) and Asst Chief of Air Staff (Projects) at Air HQ (VB), Commandant ASTE and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organisation and Training).
He is a recipient of ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ and ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’
The Trust also named Mahesh Bhagchandka, former additional advocate general Madan Mohan Pandey and Nirmala Yadav as new trustees.
