At university he studied engineeringbecause he had a real interest in problem-solving.
Fyfe's management style is famously hands-on and personal. Some of that stems from the fact that he is "an atrocious reader" and hasn't digested the management books that most CEOs in his position have.
"(The lack of reading) forced me to adapt my style. I do a lot of verbal and face-to-face. People don't want to hear you espouse a management theory you read in a book. People actually want to know who you really are as a person and what you stand for."
He found early on that people didn't want the nicely crafted corporate view. The more honest he was in his emotions, the moreeffective he was at getting people onside, at getting them to want to achieve.
On the surface Fyfe's life as a CEO seems charmed. He has, however, faced adversity and from it has come lightbulb moments.
The most public low point was the Air New Zealand A320 crash at Perpignan in France in 2008, which was played out across our TV screens. Another that Kiwis won't necessarily remember because it happenedin the UK was ITV Digital going to the wallwhile Fyfe was at the helm.
The brightest lightbulb moment of Fyfe's career came two weeks into his role as CEO for Air New Zealand. He announced the airline's heavy engin-eering facilities were to be shut
down, which put 1000 jobs at risk. A key pillar of his management style emerged from the ensulting storm.
After an intense couple of weeks of media attention and "some very spirited positioning" from unions and employees, Fyfe decided to head out to the engineering base at Auckland Airport one evening to see what the mood was like.
"Several of my colleagues told me I was nuts. There was no need to go out on the hangar floor to understand what the mood was, which they described as aggressive and volatile."
Fyfe arrived unannounced at the main hangar and walked up to a group of engineers working on an aircraft.
"Within seconds I was surrounded by around 30 engineers, who were right in my face haranguing me, calling me a 'callous bastard' and 'prick' for putting their careers and livelihood at risk.
"We had a sporty interchange of views as I explained that if I failed to address the unprofitable engineering business, I would be putting many more jobs in jeopardy."
When Fyfe move off to talk to some of the other engineers, the ringleader of the group said: "Rob, I don't respect the decision you've made, but I do respect the fact you have fronted up to us here on the hangar floor tonight."
Fyfe learned that night that no matter how bad the news, howdifficult the situation, that transparency, honesty and courage in being straightforward and inclusive with employees pays hugedividends.
"In the end we solved that dispute, with employees agreeing to a range of changes that allowed us to retain our engineering in Auckland and win a lot of new business from airlines like Hawaiian Airlines.
"From that day on, every month I went and spent a full day working around the business in various roles from toilet cleaner to check-in agent, flight attendant to engineering assistant, baggage handler to call centre agent.
"My goal was to show respect to employees across the business, to learn about the various roles required to make the business work, to share ideas, uncover innovations and improvementopportunities and share the challenges and opportunities facing the business."
Air New Zealand's engineers ended up being some of Fyfe's strongest supporters after the 2008 Perpignan crash. Three of the New Zealanders who died were engineers. It was, Fyfe believes, the fact that he dealt with the tragedy so honestly and showed that he cared passionately about them that such a strong bond was created.
Perpignan and ITV Digital were huge learningexperiences for Fyfe. ITV Digital gave him lightbulb moments almost as important as the engineering dispute.
The business was struggling when Fyfe was brought in. He was unable to turn it around. "At a personal level I found that really challenging because I had set goals."
On reflection he learned from the experience that hard decisions need to be taken quickly or more jobs were put at risk. That is why he acted so decisively at Air NewZealand.
In true British fashion Fyfe and the employees went to the pub the night he informed 500 staff they no longer had jobs. There he learned another lesson. A number of staff told him that had they known what would happen, they still would have taken the job because of the journey they'd been on.
"I learned not to be afraid to go into something that is high-risk. Even if it doesn't succeed you have gained a lot from the experience. I have reflected on that many, many times."
The second lightbulb moment that emerged from the wreck of ITV Digital was that you can never offer someone a job for life. Instead he offers an environment to help each individual reach his or her potential.
"It is in everyone's best interest that (an employee) is growing, learning, and feeling like (they) can make a difference."
Standard career advice is to have a career plan. Fyfe never has. "I never thought: 'I want to be a CEO'," he says.
His moves were based on the next challenge and to be the best he could possibly be at everything he did - a value established by hisparents.
His advice to others? Don't take a job that you can't be the best at. In his 30s Fyfe turned down a prestigious promotion at the National Australia Bank because the job was everything he wasn't good at. He didn't want to do it as a stepping-stone to show on his CV.
The bank's CEO, Don Argus, had never been turned down before. He didn't talk to his employee for about six months.
Fyfe was eventually promoted to global head of marketing and distribution, a role for which he was much better suited.
