Tony Fernandes is not a boss fond of protocol. This 59-year-old Malaysian businessman, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $335 million, describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a former musician who made his fortune by investing $0.25 in 2001 in two airplanes. This is the beginning of the adventure of AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline that had a turnover of 2.5 billion euros before the pandemic.
But it is not the success of the man dubbed the “Malaysian Richard Branson” that has attracted media attention this week. Rather, it is a photo posted to the person’s LinkedIn account. In this image, now deleted, we see the boss, shirtless, being massaged by an employee in his offices.
A message that did not go unnoticed and that unleashed hundreds of disapproving comments. Many Internet users consider this image to be inappropriate or even aggressive towards the company’s employees. This is how Rebecca Nadillo, a communicator and former executive at Meta and the BBDO advertising agency, responded.
Many other comments asked the boss to delete this image. Some prefer to opt for a touch of humor related to Tony Fernandes’ corpulence.
Karaoke with Airbus bosses
Given the avalanche of comments, the boss preferred to delete the image and publish an apology message.
Contacted by Bloomberg, the Malaysian explained that he had just endured an 18-hour flight, that he was in pain, and that the massage was a suggestion from a member of his company in Indonesia.
The particular morality of the head of AirAsia is, in any case, well known in the aviation community. As Challenges reported, a few years ago, in 2011, on the occasion of the signing of a colossal contract valued at $18.5 billion, Tony Fernandes demanded that the contract signing take place in the middle of the night in a karaoke bar in the Marais District.
Louis Gallois, who headed EADS at the time, Tom Enders, the president of Airbus, and the powerful director John Leahy had to go there. The latter should even have been forced to dance with a company stewardess, by order of the CEO of AirAsia. Stained with champagne and lipstick marks, the contract was signed. Airbus representatives humiliated but Tony Fernandes delighted…
Source: BFM TV
