South African Airways’ former CEO is now paying up after a bet he made three years ago.
Continue reading: Former South African Airways CEO Loses Bet, Pays Up
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I've long believed that Vuyani was SAA's best and final chance at restructuring the airline successfully. I've been dealing with SAA and the rotating door of CEOs for 15+ years now dating back to the mid-2000s. In that time, most of the CEOs were either incompetent, thieves, politically unacceptable, or just there to mark time in a caretaker role (or some combination of the above).
Vuyani was different. He actually listened when others gave him advice. It made a world of difference. The unions backed him. The managers backed him. For the first time, SAA would come to partnership negotiations not with the "this is what we are going to do" attitude, but rather with a "what can we do together to be successful" approach. As I said in an interview with SABC in 2019 when I signed a codeshare agreement with SAA on behalf of my then airline, "for the first time in my memory, the different factions in SAA are actually working together towards a common goal rather than infighting". As someone who was privy to some of his plans for SAA, they were realistic and achievable.
Alas, the infighting was apparently happening at a higher level. Vuyani resigned the very day that Pravin Gordhan was reappointed as the Minister in charge of the Department of Public Enterprises. Read into that what you will. His exit sucked the life and morale out of an SAA team that was just beginning to believe again.
I have stayed in contact with Vuyani since his exit from SAA, and he is a true gentleman in addition to being a very sharp business exec. He will be successful elsewhere, unlike the SAA he had to leave behind.
@Sean M.
I am from Europe and worked for the biggest online travel agency and now a GDS, I totally agree with his views. It is sad to see what was once a great airline going down the drain...same as Swissair 20 years ago (worked for them as well)
That was a real sucker bet.
SAA, the Post Office, Eskom and anything run by the government and the public sector unions will fail.
Will I ever get my refund from SAA? My flight was canceled last March and so far they have ripped me off!! 900.00 stolen!! Wow.
You are spot on Sean! Those were my words to! Vuyani was their last chance. The day he resigned I knew it was the end. SAA have never had a CEO of his calibre and acumen ehicj they need to bounce back. I'm a South African #avgeek with a love fot SAA, but Vuyani's exit was the end. No amount of government funding can replace leadership like that. Good luck to them
@Norm - sucker bet or otherwise, it was money well spent. Accepting the challenge of putting up even a token amount of his own money to bet on the team's success motivated SAA from top to bottom to back him. Sometimes leadership is not just about having great ideas or skills - it's about instilling confidence in the frontline who actually delivers the product. This bet, futile as it was by Vuyani's own admission (his turnaround plan wasn't expected to show results till 2022), lit a fire under them and made them want to do their best - something that was often sadly lacking before and since.