Change agent

It has been a tumultuous first year in the top job at the airline formerly known as Virgin Blue for John Borghetti.

The former three decade plus Qantas veteran started as CEO and managing director of the now Virgin Australia Group of Airlines in May 2010, bringing with him a clearly defined plan – the ‘Game Change Strategy’ – to transform the airline from its low cost carrier origins to an airline as relevant to the business traveller on a tight schedule to the backpacker on a tight budget.

But to execute the major elements of the game change strategy against a backdrop of major outages of its reservation system, natural disasters in the airline’s home state of Queensland, and the burgeoning cost of fuel.