Lohani wind beneath AI wings
Ashwani Lohani, who is currently the MD of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, will now take over from Rohit Nandan as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Air India.
Having achieved a turnaround of ITDC as its CMD and successfully launched the
campaign for Madhya Pradesh Tourism, ‘ Mr Turnaround’ - Ashwani Lohani, is now set to make the Maharajah fly high again. Lohani, who is currently the MD of MP Tourism Development Corp, will now take over from Rohit Nandan as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Air India. A qualified mechanical engineer, Lohani belongs to the Indian Railways Services Mechanical engineering 1980 batch.
Unlike many bureaucrats, Lohani is highly active on social media platforms, he is a regular on Twitter and also runs his own blog. In his blog dated August 21, 2015, titled ‘On the move once again’, he shares news of his appointment at Air India. Calling it a dream to head the national carrier, he writes, “This time to head the beleaguered Air India, the erstwhile Maharajah of the nation with its trademark logo. The sheen has been lost but not the inner strength, this is my firm belief and this alone gives me the hope that the skies can be ruled once again. And it shall happen… My experience in running commercial enterprises is that leadership by apex management indeed remains the primary issue, while the mundane takes priority and that too in a reactive manner. Providing proactive leadership is the crux and playing on the front foot the easiest way to demonstrate the same, is what I believe in.”
At a time when the government is finding it difficult to make the airline more sustainable, Lohani’s appointment comes as a relief. He sounds optimistic in his blog, as he concludes, “Like always before I shall not fail this time also, perhaps my last innings in the service of the nation, is a promise that I have made to myself. May God give me the strength.”
This time to head the beleaguered Air India, the erstwhile Maharajah of the nation with its trademark logo. The sheen has been lost but not the inner strength