LONDON – Rolls-Royce Holdings is set to name former Deloitte UK partner Panos Kakoullis as its next chief financial officer, with the appointment to be announced as early as February 15, Sky News reported on February 14.

The London-based Kakoullis will be arriving at a difficult time for Rolls-Royce as the company was “hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis as its airline customers have grounded planes,” Reuters reported.

In January, the maker of airplane engines “lowered forecasts for how much its engines will fly this year as tighter coronavirus travel restrictions inflict fresh pain on airlines, saying this would mean a cash outflow of 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion),” Reuters reported.

Rolls-Royce told Reuters “it was not commenting on the report at this time.”

The company “has been searching for a new CFO since Stephen Daintith resigned last August, though he has remained at Rolls-Royce for the transition period before taking the CFO role at British online supermarket and technology group Ocado,” Reuters reported.

Kakoullis “was partner at Deloitte UK for more than 20 years and managing director of the global audit and assurance business for four years at the Big Four accounting firm, his LinkedIn profile shows,” Reuters reported.

“Last year, he briefly joined PA Consulting as its chief executive-elect, but decided to leave after the company's private equity backers decided to sell to a competitor rather than pursue a public listing,” Sky News reported.