The skill that helped AirAsia's CEO turn a $0.26 airline into a billion-dollar business via CNBCMakeIt
div > div.group > p:first-child"> After building a successful career as a top exec at Warner Music, Tony Fernandes decided to pack it all in to try his hand at the airline industry in 2001. Within a year of purchasing the ailing Malaysian carrier for one ringgit , he turned the business around and returned it to profitability.But when asked the greatest skill he possesses as a leader, the 54-year-old insists on one thing: His ability to find great people.
Since AirAsia's early days, Fernandes has grown his team by more than 100 percent from a staff of 200 and two planes, to an international network of 20,000 running a fleet of 250 aircraft. "I look for people who are hungry," Fernandes said."If you look at my team, there's a lot of people who didn't make it or want to prove something."
Fernandes said he was struck by the grit and determination of serial entrepreneur Christopher Davison when he met him in a bar in London — so much so that he decided to take him on as the BigPay's co-founder and group CEO.
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