On Saturday, Sanjiv Kapoor departed from SpiceJet after two tumultuous years as chief operating officer and with a year remaining in his three-year contract with the low-cost airline. He will join Vistara, a full-service airline jointly owned by the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, as chief strategy and commercial officer in February 2016. Kapoor was the face of SpiceJet when it was owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group, but withdrew to a supporting role after Maran transferred ownership to co-founder Ajay Singh late last year when the airline nearly closed due to a severe cash crunch. He discusses his decision to quit, to join Vistara and SpiceJet's health, among a host of topics, in an interview with Binoy Prabhakar. Edited excerpts:
Senior executives typically leave in circumstances steeped in secrecy and controversy. So please explain the circumstances and subsequent events surrounding your exit.
Leaving SpiceJet has been a tough decision. What SpiceJet went through was a very emotional experience for me - a rollercoaster ride. It came out of it. In the process, the company went back to the founder. It is a fairytale ending in that sense. After two quarters of profits, I think the company's future is not in doubt. But the airline didn't need a father and a stepfather. Any company will suffer if the previous guy and new guy (in control) are there together in the long term. There will be confusion. It was time to gracefully step aside. I have a sentimental attachment to the company. Ajay has been wonderful about the whole thing. For the record, he didn't ask me to leave. If he had, I wouldn't have got the grand farewell and other things I received on Friday. During the farewell (on Saturday) we had at the head office, Ajay said, and we all laughed when he said it, "Wherever Sanjiv is, you know he has got one eye on SpiceJet." That is true.
Was there any trigger for your exit?
It was tough when the company changed hands. There was a lot of media speculation - "that means Sanjiv is out". When you have been fighting so hard, are still deeply entrenched, and people take potshots, including some in the media, who are just waiting for the bad news and gossip, it takes a toll on you. I am sure when Ajay came, he had to assess who is adding value and who is not. Fortunately, he quickly figured out that there was no need to make drastic changes. We worked well together. We may not have seen 100% eye to eye. If that's the case, you have one redundant person. But three or four months later, I realised at some point, I would need to move on. I did start getting approaches (from other companies) a couple of months after the ownership changed, and that number increased after SpiceJet announced the first quarter results and we returned to profitability. But I told the entities that this would not be the right time because my job is not done yet. I would want another good quarter, and that would be the right time to talk. In the June quarter, we again made a profit. The conversations revived and we are where we are now.
02/11/15 Binoy Prabhakar/Economic Times
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Senior executives typically leave in circumstances steeped in secrecy and controversy. So please explain the circumstances and subsequent events surrounding your exit.
Leaving SpiceJet has been a tough decision. What SpiceJet went through was a very emotional experience for me - a rollercoaster ride. It came out of it. In the process, the company went back to the founder. It is a fairytale ending in that sense. After two quarters of profits, I think the company's future is not in doubt. But the airline didn't need a father and a stepfather. Any company will suffer if the previous guy and new guy (in control) are there together in the long term. There will be confusion. It was time to gracefully step aside. I have a sentimental attachment to the company. Ajay has been wonderful about the whole thing. For the record, he didn't ask me to leave. If he had, I wouldn't have got the grand farewell and other things I received on Friday. During the farewell (on Saturday) we had at the head office, Ajay said, and we all laughed when he said it, "Wherever Sanjiv is, you know he has got one eye on SpiceJet." That is true.
Was there any trigger for your exit?
It was tough when the company changed hands. There was a lot of media speculation - "that means Sanjiv is out". When you have been fighting so hard, are still deeply entrenched, and people take potshots, including some in the media, who are just waiting for the bad news and gossip, it takes a toll on you. I am sure when Ajay came, he had to assess who is adding value and who is not. Fortunately, he quickly figured out that there was no need to make drastic changes. We worked well together. We may not have seen 100% eye to eye. If that's the case, you have one redundant person. But three or four months later, I realised at some point, I would need to move on. I did start getting approaches (from other companies) a couple of months after the ownership changed, and that number increased after SpiceJet announced the first quarter results and we returned to profitability. But I told the entities that this would not be the right time because my job is not done yet. I would want another good quarter, and that would be the right time to talk. In the June quarter, we again made a profit. The conversations revived and we are where we are now.
02/11/15 Binoy Prabhakar/Economic Times
