Veterans Unpacked | I don’t believe in rebirth but if there was one, I wouldn’t sell my airline to Vijay Mallya: Capt Gopinath

Vijay Mallya (left) and and GR Gopinath, pose during a news conference in Mumbai on June 1, 2007 when they announced the merger of Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan. REUTERS

Note to readers: How ​do corporate leaders surf life after hanging up their boots? What do they do next? What are the lessons they learned in their eventful journeys? What advice do they have for the current crop of leaders? Veterans Unpacked is a new series of interviews aimed to offer readers lessons from retired bosses on life outside the corner office.

Capt GR Gopinath is India’s low-cost aviation pioneer. Air Deccan, the company he founded, revolutionised the country’s aviation sector by helping a whole new set of passengers to take to the skies.

Air Deccan was launched in 2003 and three years later, Deccan Aviation (its parent company) went public. The Vijay Mallya-led UB group purchased a strategic 26 percent stake in Deccan Aviation in 2007. By then Air Deccan had established itself as a popular airline connecting almost 70 cities across India. Soon Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines merged with Air Deccan and Capt Gopinath sold most of his stake in the company by 2009.

Gopinath continues to remain an inspirational figure for all budding entrepreneurs in the country for taking on a huge challenge in a sector fraught with risks. His life inspired the film industry to make a Tamil movie on him titled Soorarai Pottru and UDAN in Hindi - a blockbuster released on Amazon Prime. Bollywood producer Vikram Malhotra’s production house Abundantia is planning to make an original in Hindi soon with Bollywood stars. Excerpts from an interview with India’s aviation legend.

What have you been up to since hanging up your boots? What keeps you busy now?

A: I have neither hung up my boots nor thrown in my towel in the wider sense of that word. I divide my time across various activities. I am the honorary Chairman of Deccan Charters which is a 25-year-old company that maintains and operates close to 50 helicopters and business aircraft and jets. I am mentoring the team comprising the CEO and professionals in aviation-led activities.

I also spend some time farming -- my first love in my remote village in Karnataka. I’m also immersing myself writing on eclectic topics of contemporary India - economy, aviation, politics and society - for various publications both print and online. My third book on Contemporary India, an anthology of collections of published essays, is about to go to print. My first two were Simply Fly and One Can Not Miss This Flight.

I also frequently speak to students of various universities and schools. I read all the time and listen to a lot of Carnatic and Hindustani Music.

Looking back, can you tell us about three interesting events or anything that has stayed with you since?

A; I briefly flirted with active politics in 2009 after Vijay Mallya took over my airline Air Deccan. I contested as an independent candidate for the parliament elections from Bengaluru South which I lost. And then I took part in the India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare during UPA-II. I joined AAP when Arvind Kejriwal founded the party. I admired him for his courage in charting a new course in politics. But I parted ways with AAP within months, disillusioned by his authoritarian style. I still admire him for being a counterpoint to BJP and Congress and his comparatively good governance especially in areas like education and health care.

What do you miss most about the C-Suite?

A: Running a helicopter company and an airline was a great adventure and the opportunity to innovate and create a revolution by making common people fly and connecting regional towns gave me a big high and an adrenaline rush.

If you had to relive your corporate career, what would you do differently?

A: I don’t believe in rebirth but if there was one, I would not have sold the airline to Vijay Mallya. I mean it was very good returns for the investors who invested in my airline but Mallya destroyed the airline after the merger. I mean he didn’t rob me of money but he robbed me of my dreams. I had once refused his overtures saying “He is from Mars and I’m from Venus. And we don’t make a good match.” So, maybe I should have listened to my heart instead of my private equity investors. But we should never shed tears on the past or complain of the present or fear the future.

What are the changes in the corporate world that you see now that are vastly different from your time?

A: The big successful corporates are largely those that have access to those in power to influence policies. We need disruptive leaders who can disrupt or revolutionise, through creative innovation, that transforms life on a societal scale benefiting millions of people.

Which business leader in the current crop impresses you?

A: There are many. Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma are great innovators.
We need thousands more in diverse sectors, not just Internet and IT led sectors. Prime Minister Modi once said no red tape, but red carpet. That has not been fully realised yet. Though it took him seven years to revoke the retrospective tax, it’s never late. If he can create a level playing field and a truly vibrant ecosystem for free enterprise and remove or lower entry barriers, then Indian entrepreneurs will unlock their inexhaustible potential to launch the country into a new orbit to overtake China.

How did you plan for life after retirement?

A: I am involved in various activities, so no retirement in that sense. Farming, writing and running a free nursery school for children of labourers in my village (now shut due to COVID) keep me busy.

Is there anything you would tell your younger self?

A: Don’t lose yourself in despair and cynicism, lose yourself in action and be generous in admiring good people around you.

What is your advice for the next cadre of corporate leaders?

A: So many of them are doing great work. As CK Prahlad, my friend, used to say ‘Entrepreneurs are the new freedom fighters of India’. They can free us from poverty by generating jobs.