Article: Leading through an existential crisis Written by Mark Rowland Tuesday 17 May 2022 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email Ahsan Gulabkhan CMgr had to step up, along with many of his colleagues, to ensure the survival of Virgin Atlantic through two of the most difficult years in its existence This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the CMI Spring 2022 member magazine. Become a member today to read the full version of this article and many more like it in your magazine homepage. Become a member Already a member? Log in now Learn more On 17 March 2020, Virgin Atlantic effectively lost its reason to exist. The UK government, like many others, had advised against international travel. Virgin Atlantic’s primary source of income – passenger flights – was suddenly gone. While it shifted its efforts to focus on transporting cargo, including PPE equipment, around the world, the company had lost most of its usual routes. For Ahsan Gulabkhan CMgr, associate general counsel for Virgin Atlantic, it was time to step up and focus on the company’s survival. With its primary sources of revenue effectively shut off, Ahsan was part of a team working to steer the business through. “We had to focus on our own existence,” he says. “Cargo isn’t usually the dominant aspect of our operation. It was more than 600 days that we didn’t fly to the US, and that’s our main market. We didn’t get any public funding, so we needed a private solution, which for us was a private solvent recapitalisation.” Mission impossible? At the start of the pandemic, many thought this was an impossible task. It would require huge sacrifices and a lot of work for the company’s legal team, all while Ahsan was adapting to the pressures of being a new parent and undertaking an MBA. It puts you under a microscope as a leader when you have to operate in such an extreme environment Want to know how Ahsan got his team through? Login or register below for Free Instant Access Login If you are already registered as a CMI Friend, Subscriber or Member, just login to view this article. Confirm your registration Login below to confirm your details and access this article. Sign in with email Email remember me remember Forget? Please confirm that you want to switch off the "Sign in with email" remember me feature. Yes No Register for Free Access Not yet a Member, Subscriber or Friend? Register as a CMI Friend for free, and get access to this and many other exclusive resources, as well as weekly updates straight to your inbox. You have successfully registered As a CMI Friend, you now have access to whole range of CMI Friendship benefits. Please login to the left to confirm your registration and access the article. Article Our extensive range of articles are designed to keep you in the loop with all the latest management and leadership best practice, research and news. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. Learn more about our membership benefits Join The Community CMI offers a variety of flexible membership solutions, tailored to your needs. Find out more and get involved in the CMI community today.
