Sunday, April 29, 2018

Aditya Ghosh's exit from IndiGo: Well-timed or a damp squib?

Knowing when to walk away is wisdom/ Being able to is courage/ Walking away, with your head held high is dignity.”

These lines were quoted by Aditya Ghosh, the outgoing President of India’s biggest carrier IndiGo, in a post on Instagram on Saturday morning. It was a day after IndiGo announced that he had resigned and would leave in July.

Ghosh texted a smiley emoji when asked what one was to make of these lines in the context of his sudden exit. He didn’t explain.

Ghosh’s exit is portentous. It would come as a surprise to many in the industry who thought the man, who led the airline to its mass, scale and expanse today, would be part of what seemed to be its next phase of growth.

IndiGo is now the fourth largest low-cost carrier in the world, with a market cap of over Rs 55,000 crore. It has grown from 18 planes to over 160 and operates over a thousand daily flights. Its top line grew eightfold in the past decade.

The airline is expecting deliveries of 400-plus narrow-bodied planes and plans to place an order for wide-bodied planes for its proposed low-cost, long-haul operations to various destinations, including Europe.

And Ghosh is not going to be aboard IndiGo 2.0. By his own admission, he wants to “pause before the next adventure”. He captioned his Instagram post, “Time to get #BusyLivingLive again!”

Ghosh, a lawyer by training, was with Delhi’s J Sagar Associates, where he serviced clients that included Rahul Bhatia-promoted InterGlobe Enterprise. Ghosh joined IndiGo as general counsel and was made the CEO of the airline in 2008, in a surprise decision by its founder, Bhatia.

As general counsel, Ghosh saw IndiGo grow from its inception, looking primarily at legal aspects and often making key commercial decisions in aircraft and engine contracts, employee recruitment and network planning. In two years, he was part of a three-member core team tasked with setting up the firm’s office in Mumbai.
29/04/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times
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