SADIQ GILLANI
Lufthansa Aviation Center, Frankfurt, 60546
sgillani@mba2006.hbs.edu
EDUCATION
MBA Master of Business Administration (2004-2006)
MPhil, Management Studies (2000-01). First Class (top 5%)
BOSTON
CAMBRIDGE
• Dissertation on competition through innovation in the airline industry
• Tutor in Management Studies, receiving Dean’s Award for outstanding student feedback.
BA (Hons), Management Studies (1997-00). First Class (top 5%)
A-Levels: Maths (A), Business (A), Latin (A), History (A); GCSEs: 9 As
LONDON
CURRENT POSITIONS
Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (2011-present)
FRANKFURT
Head of Corporate Strategy, Development and Innovation, reporting to CEO with team of 20 people
Member of Group Leadership Team and Finance Committee. Chairman of Innovation Fund Board
• Developed Group strategy “Way Forward 7:1”and led two actions fields
• Developed and implemented new Eurowings pan-European and long-haul low cost airline
• Spearheaded and implemented carve out of Miles & More into a separate business unit
• Initiated, developed and supported 1.5B EUR profit improvement program SCORE
• Implemented new Innovation & Digitalisation strategy creating central unit and dedicated fund
• Streamlined Group portfolio, assessed acquisition opportunities and new business fields
• Supported segments to develop their strategies and enhance performance (e.g. implementing
Net Promoter Score, Premium Economy and hand-luggage only fares)
Member of Board of Directors (2013-present)
ANTALYA
Advise and support growth of LCC, with 80 B737s and $1.2B in revenue. SunExpress is owned by
Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, with bases in Germany and Turkey
• Developed plan and partnerships to address seasonality through seasonal aircraft dry leasing
• Supported achievement of dramatic profitability increase, $4B fleet order and entry into long-haul
Chairman (2013-present)
FRANKFURT
Oversee and support development of specialised aviation consulting firm, with 80 employees
• Strengthened sales process, designed knowledge management system and provided training
Executive Director (2014-present)
BERLIN
Oversee and support development of partnerships with travel startups, with 13 employees
Lecturer in Airline Management (2014-present)
PALO ALTO
Teaching MBA class on the Travel & Airline Industry, one of the highest rated elective classes
Member of Global Agenda Council (2014-present)
Serving on the Future of Travel and Tourism council of global industry experts
GENEVA
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Chief Commercial Officer (2010-2011)
RIO DE JANEIRO
Led all commercial functions for Brazilian domestic LCC. Helped transform the airline into the most
profitable in Brazil, growing to 25 B737s and $700M in revenue. The airline was sold to GOL in 2011
• Strategic Planning: Developed airline’s 5 year growth strategy and wrote IPO business plan
• Network: Implemented new route network, developed 2 new bases & launched 20 new routes
• Revenue management: Implemented new RM system and developed new pricing structure
• Sales, Distribution and Marketing: Redesigned website and improved sales and marketing capabilities
• Ancillary Revenues: Increased ancillaries by 50% through implementing several new services
Senior Vice President (2006-2010)
NEW YORK and SYDNEY
Partner in leading boutique aviation advisory firm. Supported growth of the consulting division from
10 to 60 people. Head of Airline Loyalty and Cost Reduction practice areas. Conducted 25+ projects:
Sustainable Futures (24 months)
• Supported the airline’s successful $3B cost reduction program, reviewing all areas of the business
• Developed strategic plan for Airports division, including labour strategy, productivity and lounges
• Conducted strategic review of Catering division, including options for growth and M&A
Cost Transformation Program (9 months)
• Led 13 person team to identify & implement $500M+ of savings from across-the-business review
• Supported implementation of highest value initiatives, focused on improving labor productivity
• CEO has publicly credited the program for ensuring the survival of the airline
Due Diligence and Profit Improvement (5 months)
• Worked with CFO to identify $300M of savings as part of budgeting process
• Led 15 person team to evaluate synergy benefits from merger with another US carrier
Cargo strategic review and Maintenance Joint Venture evaluation (4 months)
• Led 12 person team to conduct strategic evaluation of the airline’s cargo business
• Developed strategy to create an airframe maintenance joint venture in Kuala Lumpur
Catering Strategy (2 months)
• Developed optimal catering strategy to serve carrier’s long-term catering demand
Strategic review and Network Redesign (2 months)
• Hired by Indigo Partners to assess the potential to turnaround struggling Indonesian LCC
• Assessed growth opportunities and potential for success
Strategic review (1 month)
• Developed growth strategy and plan to improve operational performance for struggling LCC
Vice President, Network Planning (2006-2007 part-time)
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Helped launch new domestic U.S. ultra low cost carrier, with 12 A319 aircraft and two bases
• Developed 3 year network, strategic growth path as well as pricing and ancillary revenue strategy
Startup Consultant (Summer 2005)
NEW YORK
Helped executive team prepare for launch of startup all-business class transatlantic airline
• Developed innovative new loyalty program and lounges. Created first year bottom-up budget
Senior Associate Consultant (2001 - 2004)
LONDON and JOHANNESBURG
Developed strategic solutions for clients across multiple industries and capabilities. Projects included:
Vodafone – Customer loyalty (12 months)
• Led client teams across Europe to implement new customer segmentation and increase usage
• Managed market research teams, analysed customer profitability, share and usage by segment
Chubb - Customer loyalty (9 months)
• Led research to understand drivers of customer loyalty and attrition, reducing attrition by 50%
Anglo-American - Organisational development (6 months)
• Supported organizational restructuring of world’s largest platinum mining company
Borealis – Organisational development (3 months)
• Helped leading Danish petrochemicals company reduce headcount by 30%
Digital Links – Strategy (3 months)
• Developed business plan for social enterprise providing used IT equipment to developing world
PERSONAL
• Languages: English – Native; German, French and Portuguese – Intermediate; Spanish - Beginners
• Interests: Active traveler, having visited 120 countries
• Awards: Financial Times Top 100 Business Leaders (2014). WEF Young Global Leader (2015)