INSPIRING STORY:People Who Changed the World

TAN SRI TONY FERNANDES

Introduction - Nevettha

     

Tan Sri Anthony Francis "Tony" Fernandez, CBE (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. Fernandez was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to an Indian father and a mother of mixed Indian (Kerala Malayalam) and Asian-Portuguese (Kristian) descent who had been raised in Malacca, during his young age he follows his mother who sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties .”The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur was the placed where he was educated. At around 1977 to 1983 about starting at age 12, he studied at Epsom College boarding school in England and he was matriculated the London School of Economics and graduated with degree in accounting. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, Air Asia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly". Fernandez managed to turn Air Asia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies. 

Mr Fernandez bought Air Asia from a Malaysian government-owned company in September 2001 for a mere 25 pence. “When the music business failed to embrace the internet, I thought it was game, set and match for the industry and I quit," he recalls. But he had no experience of running an airline. “It really was a little bit of stick your finger in the air and hope for the best. But we were good marketing people from the music business… we just went out there and felt the market and said if you halve the fare, there's a huge enormous untapped market. “Air Asia was heavily indebted at the time. Fernandez set about reforming the airline as a short-haul low cost carrier, similar to those operating in the West. The decision revolutionised short-haul flights around Asia and Fernandez saw his business expand rapidly. The company grew from two planes in 2002 to a fleet of 86 aircraft flying 30 million people around the world.

He was also instrumental in lobbying the then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad in mid-2003, to propose the idea of open skies agreements with neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations have granted landing rights to Air Asia and other discount carriers. As of February 2014, Forbes Asia valued Fernandez' net worth at $650 million, ranking him at number 28 on the Forbes list of Malaysia's Richest.

Career

He worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin Records in London from 1987 to 1989.Fernandes was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow Member in 1996. He is currently a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).Fernandes was formerly a Warner Music executive in Malaysia.[12] He was the South East Asian regional vice-president for Warner Music Group from 1992 to 2001.When Time Warner Inc announced its merger with America Online Inc., Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline.In September 2001, Fernandes purchased AirAsia and became its chief executive. 

OTHER VENTENTURES - Ahpiramii

In 2007, Fernandes started a hotel chain, Tune Hotels, based on the no frills concept. It has properties in Britain, Australia and the Far East.As of 2013, Fernandes is also involved in a reality TV series: The Apprentice Asia is an Asian reality game show in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to work with Fernandes, who also serves as the host of the show.In March 2012, Tony Fernandes served on the International Advisory Board of Global March to Jerusalem, which aims to "mobilize the international community in solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem." A Joint Statement was issued, signed by the various members of the Board, including Fernandes. 


Caterham Group 

Fernandes is the founder of the Caterham F1 Formula One team, which began racing in 2010 as Lotus Racing and raced in 2011 as Team Lotus. On 2 July 2014, Caterham F1 was sold to a Swiss and Middle Eastern consortium.On 16 December 2009, Fernandes accepted a "challenge" from Richard Branson, a fellow airline boss and the owner of Lotus' fellow F1 newcomers Virgin Racing. The losing team's boss would work on the winner's airline for a day dressed as a stewardess. Fernandes joked "The sexier the better. Our passengers will be delighted to be served by a Knight of the Realm, but knowing Richard, the real challenge will be to prevent him from asking our guests 'coffee, tea or me?' That would be scary. In addition, the team produced a poster depicting Branson in an Air Asia uniform. However, the date of the flight was delayed several times: first because of Branson breaking his leg, then because of the royal wedding, finally because of a fire at the Necker Island. On 19 December 2012, Fernandes announced that Branson would honour his bet in May 2013. Branson ultimately honoured the bet on 13 May 2013. 

Caterham Racing, also created by Fernandes, competes in the GP2 Series.On 27 April 2011, Fernandes announced that his company had purchased Caterham Cars. EQ8 is a natural energy drink and the first FMCG product from Fernandes and his business partner Kamarudin Meranun. EQ8 is also the Official Drink of Caterham F1.


Football Fernandes is a fan of English club West Ham United and was involved in talks regarding a potential takeover of the club back in May 2011, at which stage it looked as if he was going to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the club. Former West Ham chairman Andrew Bernhardt even flew to Kuala Lumpur to try and finalise the deal, but the two parties failed to agree on the price. It was just one month later when Fernandes made another offer to buy 51 per cent of the club, although co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold rejected his bid. Sullivan told the London Evening Standard: "He wanted 51% of the club for two bob." Sullivan's comments started a war of words on Twitter. 

"It was a good offer with good money and brought in good people," said Fernandes. "Gold and Sullivan can say whatever they want. I have been a lifelong fan and would have brought good money, good ideas, new people and a new belief. As for PR stunts. Wow. They are always in the press making huge claims. Were we not supposed to be in Europe. Now we have been relegated. Two sacked managers. All good players will be sold. No new training ground which is the most important ingredient I feel. Look at how many injuries we have. And more investment into the academy.

Tony Fernandes' seat at Loftus Road 
On 18 August 2011, just three months after Queens Park Rangers' promotion back to the Premier League following a 15-year absence, Fernandes was unveiled as their majority shareholder, having bought Bernie Ecclestone's 66% stake. He was also named as chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd.Everyone knows I've followed West Ham all my life but I've always had a soft spot for QPR. Rangers were one of the first teams I watched as a child at Loftus Road. I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down. 


Tony Fernandes, August 2011 

While Neil Warnock remained as the club's manager for their return to the top-flight, a run of eight Premier League games without a win eventually led to his sacking.Mark Hughes was quickly named as his replacement, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal in the process. Despite their new manager, QPR's poor run of form continued, which left them fighting for Premier League survival on the final day of the 2011-2012 season. Relegation rivals Bolton Wanderers needed a win to have any chance of survival, but could only muster a draw with Stoke City, meaning QPR were safe, despite losing 3-2 to Manchester City after Sergio Agüero's injury-time winner - a goal which stole the Premier League title from arch-rivals Manchester United on goal difference.

Mark Hughes led the club into the 2012-2013 season, but after just four points from 12 games and without a single win - one of the worst starts in Premier League history - Fernandes gave Hughes his marching orders. Fernandes hired former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp on 24 November 2012, but even he was unable to solve QPR's problems. Following a goalless draw with relegation rivals Reading on 28 April 2013, both teams were relegated to the Championship.

The key of Tony Fernandes’s successful – by Rohani

   Dato Tony Fernandes is one of the most successful and influential businessman in this century.  His successfulness in leading the business has no doubt in influencing people and the new generation. One of his key to be successful is that he learnt not only about business but he also good at financing. Dato Tony Fernandes is an accountant by training at good at numbers. He studied at London School of Economics and worked as the financial controller of British tycoon Richard Branson’s Virgin Records in London. He says that people do not need to be accountants but it is enough to have good understanding about accounting and finance.

   Moreover, Dato Tony Fernandes has a strong determination whereby during a speech at the Sabah International Business Luncheon Talk 2012, he was quoted by the Borneo Post as he said nothing is impossible to achieve as long as there is determination. He turned around an unprofitable and small airline company with only two airplanes for 12 years. Other than this, one of the biggest key of successful is, Dato Tony Fernandes is not afraid of being a failure. He rather failed than not trying anything new. To him, trying and get failed is better than not to try but just give up because failure will always give a person a chance to improve.

   Beside than this, Dato Tony Fernandes considered the employees as his key assets. One of his strength is his caring and encouragement good employees. He sees the people as the “key assets” of any business and hopes to develop their full potential as future entrepreneurs, passions and to achieve their dreams. His business has no limits and he look for brilliant ideals from his workers. On the December 2012, he gave 263 Chopard watches which cost for 5 million ringgit as gifts to 263 staff members who have been loyal with the company for 10 years. In additional, after the hurricane Yolanda destroyed Tacloban City, Dato Tony Fernandes reportedly sought out one of his employees whose home was wiped out during the disaster and will help to rebuild the house.

   Furthermore, the great man also believes in using advance technology for his business because it will be convenient to everyone especially his customers to access to the website from AirAsia.com which has made the airline brand published into worldwide. Last but not least, Dato Tony Fernendes have a bold vision, global and long-range vision for his various companies because since he was young he had these three dreams that he wanted to achieve which are running an airline, owning an English football club and owning a Formula One racing team.

                                   

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes Contributions – by Ahpiramii

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes contribution to aviation industry

AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has been conferred with an award by the French government for his contribution to the Malaysian aviation industry and economy. Fernandes received the Com­mander of the Legion d’Honneur award from French president Francois Hollande during a ceremony held at the Elysée Palace here yesterday.The Malaysian corporate captain said it was truly an honour to be conferred the award, adding that he was “humbled” by the recognition.


“Aviation is an important industry that not only contributes to the economy of countries, but also provides jobs, connects communities and enhances livelihoods.“As the group CEO of AirAsia, I am proud that we have positively contributed both directly and indirectly towards many people’s lives,” he said. The Legion d’Honneur award was started by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to recognise outstanding service of individuals to France, with the Commander of the Legion d’Honneur being the highest rank of honor that the French government can award to a non-French citizen. Fernandes was previously conferred the Officer of the Legion d’Honneur award by the French Government in 2010.


Moreover, the AirAsia Group operates an all-Airbus fleet, which has contributed significantly towards French and European economies via the European-owned and Toulouse-based company. It has firm orders of 475 Airbus A320s for AirAsia, and 25 Airbus A330-300 and 10 Airbus A350-900 for AirAsia X.

Tony Fernandes recognised for his contribution to the growth of Asean and U.S.-ASEAN relationship

The US-ASEAN Business Council with the Fourth Pillar Award has been recognized Tony Fernandes who is a co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia for his extraordinary contribution towards the growth of Asean and the U.S ASEAN relationship.The award was presented by Mr. Keith Williams, President & CEO, UL LLC and Chairman, U.S.-ASEAN Business Council to Tony Fernandes, making him the second recipient after the Administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The ASEAN Economic Community Conference 2016 dinner reception was held in San Francisco with key business leaders and government officials from across ASEAN and the U.S. in attendance. 

In addition, the ASEAN charter speaks to a community comprising three pillars which are political security, economic and socio-cultural. The Fourth Pillar Award is presented to a person or organization representing the “fourth pillar”, a person that has made an extraordinary contribution towards the growth of ASEAN as well as fostering better U.S.ASEAN relationship, effectively making the foundation of ASEAN stronger through their focus and involvement. Moreover, Tony Fernandes, who is also a member of the ASEAN Business Club Advisory Council said that , “The theme of this conference – Asia’s Best Kept Secret: The ASEAN Economic Community – says it all. ASEAN is a dream and if we put the ASEAN people first, who knows what we can achieve. When you combine all ten member countries into a single market and production base, you are tapping into a community of over 600 million people. The potential this region holds is immense, and as a truly ASEAN brand, we will continue to lobby and spearhead ASEAN integration, especially but not limited to the aviation, travel and tourism industries.”

“I believe it is time for ASEAN to take a bold step towards commonality and standardization. There is an urgent need of one ASEAN regulator to ensure a unified ASEAN standard. The current process of relying on consensus that requires approval from all 10 countries should be reviewed so important initiatives move forward. ”It is a true honor to be recognized by the U.S.ASEAN Business Council for what we have done as an ASEAN brand, but there is much more to do. Our hope is for all ten member countries’ governments to come together as harmonization allows for more efficient use of resources, achieve better economies of scale, contribute towards the reduction of unit costs and lead towards faster growth for the region,” added Fernandes.

Besides that the AirAsia Group, led by Tony Fernandes and partner Datuk Kamarudin Meranun has grown into an ASEAN powerhouse with operations connecting all ten ASEAN member countries in addition to providing one of the widest route network across Asia, Australasia and beyond via its long-haul operations.

In conclusion, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council, founded in 1984, is the premier advocacy organization for U.S. corporations operating within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Council works to elevate the importance of U.S.-ASEAN economic relationship to American and ASEAN public policy makers and business leaders. The Council works across all ten member countries of ASEAN, representing 152 major U.S. corporations.

 

The features that have been used by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia - by Syarmin

               

There are many features that have been used by Tan Sri Tony Fernandez. One of the features is failure is an option. An entrepreneur will definitely have ups and downs in their respective fields. It is also facing faced by Air Asia CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandez. On December 28, 2014, he received the sad news to learn that one of the QZ8501 AirAsia plane has crashed and crashed on the Selat Karimata, Indonesia. A total of 162 people were on the plane and all were killed. This perception is very disappointing when people started to say Air Asia is the cause of this incident and they look down on this company.

However, for Tan Sri Tony Fernandez, this is not a failure for everything. He was patient in the face of this tragedy and try to take steps to compensate the victims of accidents. Victim not only of citizens of Indonesia, but also from other countries such as South Korea, France, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. During the investigation, the body of the aircraft inspected every corner and find the cause of this accident. Many countries sent help search the wreckage and victims. Heirs of the victim also constantly told info on the latest news regarding the case. Therefore, there are many ways of settlement made by the CEO of AirAsia managed to return after receiving a problem.

In addition, it is evident that this feature is that failure is an option is true and Tan Sri Tony Fernandez himself has experienced it. He has the right to practice and do not choose failure as an option. But he has chosen to avoid such failures. After the incident, he sent each of its subsidiaries to check the aircraft before take-off and step up security and passenger aircraft. It is undeniable that he suffered great loss, but this is a lesson for him and others to be more careful and more sensitive in the future 

Besides that, the feature that have to Tony Fernandez is a risk taker. Taking a risk means the risk is likely to open will suffer a loss or profit. Many studies have found a tendency to take risks is part of the personality traits of successful entrepreneurs. Every business whether big or small business will take the risk to get the voucher as well as a change in the business further. However, this opens the risk should be carefully planned and safe and need to be balanced with the knowledge and understanding so that they do not pose risks to the business problem.

As examples of entrepreneurs who practice this feature is Air Asia, led by Tony Fernandez. He is also known as Tony Fernandez is an entrepreneur and founder of "Tune Air Sdn Bhd," which introduced a cheap flight to Malaysians with the tagline, "All were able to ride an airplane". Fernandez achieved fame when she was recovering from an airline Air Asia is back to an excellent public company.

Moreover, Air Asia used to be a company set up by DRB-Hicom, a Malaysian government conglomerate, has experienced difficulties due to the debt burden is too high. Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandez was taking a risk by buying the company at a price of ringgit and had debt of approximately RM 40 million and only has two Boeing 737-300 airplanes used, only fly to one destination, carrying 250,000 passengers a year and has only 250 employees.

But after 9 years the company has been led by Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandez, Air Asia now worth nearly RM 4 billion, a profit of RM549 million, has over 85 Airbus A320 and A330, flew straight through more than 130 routes to 70 destinations worldwide, flown over 20 million passengers a year and now has more than 8,000 employees in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. This led the company among the biggest competitor airlines other major international long-time operations such as Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA).

           

      

Awards and Recognition- by saranya

Tony Fernandes managed to turn AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies. He had the vision in the aviation industry, let alone the courage, to foresee how Asia would transform into the 2000’s. Tony put all his faith in the Asian consumer, who he thought would board his airline if he provided good service at a reasonable price.

                                          

In 2007,Tony Fernandes has created a "first" in Asia by starting a hotel chain, Tune Hotels which is based on the no-frills concept. The first Tune Hotel was opened at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. This is one of his achievement. Expansions are in the works as more hotels will be opened up throughout Malaysia. Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn AirAsia into an international carrier. Fernandes is also the president of the ABL (Asian Basketball League). Fernandes has stated that it has always been a dream of his to be able to be involved with the development of sports in the ASEAN region. Fernandes is the team principal of the new Lotus F1 Racing, which has been granted entry into the 2010 Formula One season.

Fernandes has received several awards for his outstanding achievements: International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia; "Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003 ² a highly acclaimed recognition so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognize entrepreneurial and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of Malaysian corporations. Named the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American Express Corporate Services and Business Times. "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year " in the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards" in 2003; Made the list of Business Week's "25 Stars of Asia" in 2005."Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006" Fernandes has also been honoured by the Malaysian government with title Dato. Tony is a member of the prestigious Young Global Leaders organization. He joins the ranks of 237 of the world's elite leader and individuals who will dedicate their knowledge and expertise to engage in major global undertakings to shape the future.

The award winning airline is the recipient of the Asia Pacific Low Cost Airline of the Year 2004 by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), and the Market Leadership Award by ATW magazine. In addition, AirAsia also clinched the prestigious Euro money award for Asia 's Best Managed Company in the Airlines & Aviation Sector. 

Tony Fernandes inspires is on his mission of serving the underserved. As a leader he has good leadership to know when to go and succeed as a good leader if you've transported someone else in and the company gets stronger. Then you've succeeded as leader. He has his own quotes, Believe the Unbelievable, Dream the Impossible and Don't Take No for An Answer.

Honours

Fernandes has been awarded the following honours:

• Given the titles Tan Sri and Dato' Sri by the King of Malaysia
• The Legion of Honour order by the French government
• Named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to promote commercial and educational links" between Malaysia and the United Kingdom. 

Awards

Fernandes has received many awards for his achievements:

• International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia;
•  "Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003; so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognise entrepreneurial and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of Malaysian corporations.
• Named the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American Express Corporate Services and Business Times.
• "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards" in 2003;
• Made the list of Business Week's "25 Stars of Asia" in 2005.
• Malaysian Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year 2006"
• "Excellence In Leadership - Asia Pacific Leadership Awards 2009
• 2010 Forbes Asia businessman of the year
• 2011 No. 52, in Fast Company Top 100 Most Creative People in Business. 
• "Brand Builder of the Year" 2014 at the World Branding Awards, for his work in building the AirAsia brand