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Former Air New Zealand boss Rob Fyfe says he’s attracted to problem solving, even if it means facing a crisis every now and then.
Fyfe, who was just named a Fellow of the New Zealand Order of Merit for business services and tourism, has handled his fair share of crisis over the years, ever since the Air New Zealand-owned plane crash that killed to the seven people in the meeting, to advise the Government on the coronavirus pandemic.
“I really enjoy working my way through a really difficult subject,” said Fyfe.
He said his leadership style was people-centered, and during a crisis he always put people first by engaging, supporting and empowering them.
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This year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appointed Fyfe as a business advisor on the Covid-19 recovery. Fyfe said the two spoke every fortnight.
He said that he was very aligned with his approach to crisis management and that the two were “soul mates” in that sense.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Rob Fyfe says he took on roles where organizations were going through a lot of change.
Fyfe said she never really planned her career, only seized opportunities when they arose.
In 1995, Fyfe, 33 at the time, was interviewed for an article that was published in Afternoon mail.
The former air force officer and engineering graduate had recently been appointed marketing manager at the Bank of New Zealand, a position previously held by pioneering businesswoman Theresa Gattung.
In the article, Fyfe says that he thrives in changing environments and instead of planning his career, gravitates to where the opportunities lie.
He said he still operates in that spirit today.
Fyfe had spent most of his career working for New Zealand companies and being recognized with a New Year’s honor was “a thrill,” he said.
“Receiving recognition here in a country that means so much to me, I find it very humiliating.”
At 59, he says he feels he still has a lot to offer and is too young to receive a New Years honor.
John Selkirk / Things
Rob Fyfe pictured in 2003 when he took over as Airline Group General Manager at Air New Zealand.
In 2003, Fyfe started as Chief Information Officer for Air New Zealand. His appointment came shortly after the taxpayer bailed out the airline with a cash injection of $ 885 million following the collapse of the Ansett Australia subsidiary.
From the beginning, Fyfe was heavily involved in a strategic review of Air New Zealand’s business, which included a cost reduction plan to save $ 245 million a year, costing about 1,500 workers their jobs.
In two years, he would be appointed CEO, a position he would hold until his eventual departure from the airline in 2012.
During his time at Air New Zealand, Fyfe faced periods of severe turbulence including mass layoffs, staff strikes, the shutdown of the airline’s heavy aircraft maintenance operation, the global financial crisis and the loss of an Airbus A320. in an accident in the south of France that killed five New Zealanders and two German pilots in 2008.
Following the disaster, Fyfe visited the crash site with the families of those on board and promised to bring the bodies of the accident victims home.
In 2009, Fyfe also apologized on behalf of Air New Zealand to the families of the victims of the Mount Erebus disaster in 1979 for the way they were treated after the accident.
On the operational front, it introduced a new fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs, ordered a new fleet of Boeing 787-9 aircraft, introduced the world’s first flat SkyCouch economy class, secured a line-wide alliance between Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia , took a stake in the Australian airline, and oversaw the redesign of Air New Zealand’s cabin uniforms, awarding the contract to New Zealand design store Zambesi.
John Selkirk / Things
Rob Fyfe says he likes to take risks and get into companies or industries that he doesn’t know much about and find ways they can work better.
After announcing that he was leaving Air New Zealand, airline experts dubbed Fyfe a “rock star CEO.”
The self-proclaimed fashionista was also frequently named one of New Zealand’s best-dressed businessmen and wore nothing but body paint and underwear for a New Zealand aerial advertisement.
It was fitting then, that after Air New Zealand, Fyfe joined the board of Merino clothing brand Icebreaker before becoming its CEO.
He has sat as a director on the boards of Michael Hill International, Air Canada and Antarctica NZ, among others. He was also appointed independent adviser to the Government on the plans for the re-entry of the Pike River mine.
And, as New Zealand faced the prospect of economic disaster at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ardern appointed Fyfe to an unpaid position to serve as a liaison between government and business.
He later appointed him to a new paid role as a business advisor in the Covid-19 recovery. At the time, Fyfe said he would be an advisor on the “recovery and rebuilding” of the economy until at least early next year.
Fyfe said she was now spending a lot of her time advising and investing in young entrepreneurs, something she found more satisfying than pursuing her own career.
