Ilker Ayci: Grounded
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-03-03 15:42:25
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
There are several things which a company considers when it hires a CEO. The top most priority for any company is to hire the best available talent internationally, since borders are no longer a barrier. Several Indians head companies abroad and several foreigners head companies in India, either home grown or subsidiaries of MNCs. The best man for the job has become the new corporate mantra. And when the company is Air India, the loss-making white elephant which the government finally managed to get off its back by selling it to the Tatas, it becomes all the more important to get a CEO who can turn it around.
When the Tatas chose Ilker Ayci from a pool of international applicants suggested to them, they obviously felt that he was the best man for the job. Ayci was the CEO of Turkish Airlines and turned it around. Air India needs a CEO who can make it stand on its feet again. It was bleeding badly despite having good infrastructure and prime slots. But Ayci was forced to decline the offer as he felt that a different 'colour' was being given to his appointment.
It started with Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, raising security concerns about Ayci. It was said that he was close to politicians in Turkey, including President Erdogan and also had 'links' with Islamic fundamentalists and that would have made him a security risk. A section of the media then dug out other 'facts' about him and it looked as if the Tatas were hiring an enemy of the nation. Obviously it was enough for Ayci to decline the offer as he must have felt that he would not be able to give his best when people were raising such questions about him.
But is it the job of Swadeshi Jagran Manch or the media or anybody else to raise these questions? India has a strict system whereby all foreigners who are proposed to be appointed as officers of any company are vetted for security reasons. Ayci would have had to clear that test. It is the job of the government to conduct the test and give the security clearance. This unofficial test and trial by a think tank and a section of the media will set a dangerous precedent.
