An experienced international business leader with extensive experience in managing full service, hybrid and low-cost airlines.
Education
Mr Chand holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Physics from the University of South Pacific, Fiji and a Master of Science in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University, UK. He has attended an executive program in strategy at Stanford University and participated in various airline and tourism conferences and short courses during his career both as a presenter and delegate.
Fellow of the Institute of Travel and Tourism and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management
Experience
Mr. Chand has over 25 years of experience in the international and domestic airline sectors in the fields of management, strategy, operations and business planning. He started his airline career with Air Pacific, the flag carrier for Fiji in the 1990s, with managerial stints in Strategic Planning and Market Planning. He joined Virgin Blue Airlines (now Virgin Australia), in 2000 as a founding member and held various Executive and Managerial posts in the Commercial Division. In his last role he was responsible for overseeing the medium-haul international airlines and prior to that he was Head of Network Management. Immediately prior to joining Royal Brunei Airlines, Mr. Chand was the Chief Executive Officer of Our Airline.
Mr. Chand joined Royal Brunei Airlines in 2012 as Chief Commercial and Planning Officer overseeing all of RB’s commercial functions and network and fleet planning. On 17th March 2016, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, the position which he currently holds.
Areas of Expertise
Airline management for all business models.
What have been the main lessons you have learned in your career and how do you implement them in your management?
Leading by example, story-telling to make your points and placing importance on staff training and development. It is simple you need to have a conviction to these very important leadership skills and carry it out at the earliest opportunity.
Mentors
“There have been numerous mentors, the most prominent being my bosses in the early part of my career. They helped me to understand the organizational objectives, how I fitted in, the basis of success and offered me continuous education. Simple matters like effective diary management is something I still use today.”
Quotes
“‘Do the right things and get it right the first time’ is a widely used quote, however it has a special meaning in the airline business, given the pressures in the industry and the everyday operational challenges. It is quite easy to be in firefighting mode all the time and not focus on key strategies and making the hard decisions.”
