Captain GR Gopinath may have moved on to fresh entrepreneurial pastures, but the core team for his new venture is not very different from the previous one.
Some have taken as much as 70% cut in salary to be back with him
BANGALORE: Captain GR Gopinath, the pioneer of low-cost aviation in India, may have moved on to fresh entrepreneurial pastures, but the core team for his new venture is not very different from the previous one.
As the serial entrepreneur embarks on his new projects, his men in blue (budget carrier Air Deccan’s colour) are right behind him. Many of the former Deccan Aviation Ltd senior executives have joined Gopinath in realising his new dream of setting up a logistics firm and keeping his charter business airborne.
Among those who are back with him is John Kuruvilla, who was the chief revenue officer in Deccan Aviation in its heydays. He quit the budget airline to join Oberoi Hotel as executive vice-president. Two years on, Kuruvilla is back with the Captain as a chief commercial officer at Deccan Charters.
Captain P B Devayya, Deccan Aviation’s chief business co-ordinator, has also chosen to follow Gopinath. He is now the chief operating officer (COO) of Deccan Charters.
Captain Pritam Phillip, who was Deccan Aviation’s deputy COO, has taken charge of the aviation business of Deccan Express Logistics (DEL). “He has returned as the COO of (Deccan Express Logistics),” said a company source.
The corporate communications department of both Deccan Express Logistics and Deccan Charters is being headed by a former Deccan Aviation executive - Vijaya Menon. Gopinath has even retained his former colleague Mohan Kumar, who managed the finances of his no-frills airline, as director (finance). “Mohan Kumar is consulting us on financial aspects,” said the source.
What has pulled these ex-colleagues back to Gopinath is the thrill of working with the aviation visionary. That’s why Kuruvilla has taken a 70% cut in the salary he was earning at Oberoi Hotel. “He (Gopinath) lets you fly and become the master of your destiny. Yet, when you make a mistake he clears obstacles in your path and sets you in the right direction,” says Kuruvilla.
Gopinath sold Deccan Aviation to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who operates full-services carrier Kingfisher Airlines, for Rs 550 crore in June last year.
p_sharma@dnaindia.net 
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