Game Changer

From his earliest days as a mail boy at Qantas, John Borghetti has been seen as a rising star. But his first days as CEO of the then Virgin Blue were far from easy. Still, as DOUG NANCARROW writes in this excerpt from his newly-released book on Borghetti titled ‘Game Changer’, they would set the scene for the transformation into Virgin Australia that would soon follow.

I remember that it was two to three weeks into the job. We’d just done a downgrade. I got back to the Brisbane office, must have been seven-thirty or something at night, and I was feeling so low, so low. I thought, “This is insurmountable. ” I was worried about how I was going to get everybody in line with the strategy I had. There was no question there was reluctance. Whether it was true or not I don’t know, but the perception, the feeling I had, was that there was certainly a resentment by more than half of management about me being there. One of the guys there [had] expected to get the [CEO’s] job and he didn’t. That is always a difficult situation – and I’m speaking from experience.

‘I remember Christine [Lewis, Borghetti’s long-serving executive assistant] was still in the office and she walked in to me at just the wrong time. Well, maybe it was just the right time. And I said, “Sit down, I’ve got to talk to you. I’ve made the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I’m sorry I dragged you into it. Bad mistake. I can’t stay here. ” ‘Now, Christine had been with me 17 years and she’d never once raised her voice at me or been anything other than polite. A very solid, steady hand. And she looked at me and she said, “Don’t be ridiculous. Stop that right now. ” ‘And I started to say something but she cut in. “We can do this. Now, I want you to pack up your desk and go home and come in in the morning and—” ‘I said, “Christine, that’s very brave of you, but this is a mistake. But you’re right, I should go home. I’ll talk to you in the morning. ” ‘So I left, and as I was driving I kept seeing Christine giving me a hard time. By the time I got to my apartment I was thinking, “No, you know what? She’s right. I’ve never quit on anything in my life. Why would I start now?” ‘So I got the bit between my teeth, pulled out my laptop and worked very late that night. I was so pumped up.