Rob Fyfe, the charismatic chief executive who has navigated Air New Zealand brilliantly through a world-wide recession and cut-throat competition in the aviation industry, will be leaving the company at the end of the year.
The 50-year-old, who's seen Air New Zealand win numerous awards during his tenure and whose sensitive handling of the Airbus crash off the coast of Perpignan has become a template for other companies on how to handle corporate tragedies, won't be retiring. He says he's looking for new opportunities and they will doubtless come his way.
I have a number of friends who work at Air New Zealand and they adore the man. He's been known to work a day within every department that makes up the company, from helping with the catering to handing out the lollies on flights. He's passionate about the company and the people who work for him and he was willing to strip off and take part in the risque "Nothing to hide" commercials, showing Air New Zealand staff in little more than body paint. (For a man who is an inveterate gym bunny, that was probably a little bit of vanity publishing).
In all my years of writing this column, he was the first man to request the opportunity to present his side of the story, after I commented negatively about a pilot with four drink-drive convictions still being employed by the company.
The opening line of his email, which arrived only hours after the paper had hit the streets, was a disappointment: "It has been brought to my attention by colleagues and customers that ..."
