65. Alex Cruz of British Airways

Alex Cruz admits that his career has been centered around people "betting on me" as a leader of businesses.

During the course of over 30 years, Cruz worked for American Airlines and Sabre in the 1990s before a brief stint in the world of management consultancy at Accenture.

But it was the lure of creating a brand new airline in the guise of low-cost carrier Clickair in 2006 that brought it back to aviation.

It was this frenetic period running what was essentially a startup that raised his profile to the extent that he came CEO of fellow Spanish airline Vueling when the pair merged in July 2009.

By April 2016 he was chairman and CEO of British Airways, the flagship brand in the International Airlines Group portfolio that included Vueling and Iberia.

The next five or so years were marked with the introduction of some major strategic developments but also industrial disputes with staff unions and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.

Cruz left his role as CEO and chairman in October last and remained as chairman of the board until March 2021.

He joins us as the latest guest on How I Got Here.

HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.

It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.

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