19 August, 2011
CEO for the day
Over 400 people entered, there were only 10 places available and only one person managed to snag a place from
Wellington; Ashna Basu, a Year 12 student at Queen Margaret College.
Air New Zealand recently ran a nationwide competition for students to join Rob Fyfe and his senior management team for
the day and learn what it takes to be CEO of Air New Zealand. The competition asked the students to detail how that
would make a difference if they were Air New Zealand’s CEO for the day.
Ashna Basu chose to look at the Brand and Marketing, stating in her essay,
“I think the key to marketing any brand is: a) Staying relevant and interesting, b) Engaging with the masses and c) Get
people talking and spreading the word. If I were CEO for a day, I would address these three key aspects with a social
media campaign.”
On 11 August 2011 Ashna joined 9 other students from around New Zealand in Auckland, where they learnt from Rob Fyfe
what it takes to be a leader.
Ashna gushed about her experience on her return, “spending the day with Rob Fyfe and going to his main meeting rooms and
chatting to him over lunch - along with the Warriors! I met pretty much all of the Air New Zealand Senior Executive, and
also got the chance to explore classified hangars and engineering bases.
The day finished in the best way possible too - flying back home in the cockpit with the captain!”
Queen Margaret College is a Leading Independent Presbyterian Girls College. It offers holistic education from Pre-School through to Year 13
and the choice of the qualification pathways of IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma and NCEA. QMC is a College with
an international perspective that delivers a high-quality, globally-relevant curriculum within a family atmosphere.
ENDS