Over the past year, circumstances have taught us of how things can quickly change. Our daily lives have gone through (and continue to go through) plenty of adjustments in nearly every aspect: in the way we work, travel, shop, among other ways. For the most part, coping hasn’t been easy for everyone but thankfully we have our families, friends, mentors, communities, and leaders.   

In these times of uncertainty, leaders play a critical role in navigating teams and businesses through a pandemic. Good leadership is vital in pivoting towards the right path, by transforming obstacles to opportunities. 

AirAsia’s Chief Officers share inspiring stories of learning to lead, and leading to learn.

RAY BERJA

Chief Finance Officer 

Learning to Lead

Ray started his Allstar journey in 2019 bringing in over 15 years of Finance experience as a veteran who spent his early years with external audit firms and multinational companies, before bringing his unique management style to AirAsia. 

But this award winning CFO shares that his journey to the top was far from easy. Ray learned the value of hard work and humility being a street vendor at a very young age. On a daily basis, he would assist his mother at the public market and sell goods on a push cart. 

With courage and a strong desire for a better life, Ray was ready to take on any opportunity, and made them for himself. Though his journey involved a few wrong turns and failures, Ray sees them as lessons to be learned and stepping stones to bigger victories. It is through the adversities that Ray faced which has brought him to where he is today.

These life lessons, Ray brings to the workplace to inspire his own team whom he is training to be leaders. Though Ray’s daily work has been tough having to deal with challenging situations amidst a pandemic, Ray shares that success and victory will always prevail for as long as you have good intentions for the people you serve. 

RICKY ISLA     

Chief Executive Officer 

Leading to Learn

Being the CEO of a company severely affected by the ongoing unprecedented crisis is an extremely difficult responsibility that no one was trained to handle. With over 40 years of professional experience in domestic and global operations across multiple industries, there is no better person to lead AirAsia Philippines than Ricky himself. 

Ricky shares that delicate situations require well thought out business plans and concrete solutions derived from a thorough analysis and assessment of every situation the company finds itself in. For him, this involves clear and constant communication with every department to provide the best customer experience possible. 

For Ricky, to truly understand the business and challenges it faces, he must immerse from ground up-- literally. Ricky spends time swapping roles with Allstars for a day including those in Ground Operations. Ricky’s most recent job swap was with Ramp Agent Zaldy Garcia where he took his morning away from the boardroom and into the ramp area to get a full grasp of AirAsia’s on ground services and baggage handling. 

Ricky puts importance in experiencing various roles of Allstars to not only see how the company can improve its products and services, but also to catch up with Allstars who have been working doubly hard amidst a pandemic. 

For Ricky, a good leader entails being guest obsessed and putting people first. For him, instilling those values are crucial in building a stronger, resilient, and positive Allstar family. 

Catch Ricky and Ray’s inspiring stories today on the Season Finale of Allstars at Your Service Season 2, on the airasia travels Facebook page and YouTube channel at 6:00PM (PST). 

As AirAsia goes forth on its path towards recovery, AirAsia celebrates the hardworking Allstars who are leaders in their own ways. Thank you for the great work you do, for inspiring your colleagues, and for the effort and commitment that has kept AirAsia stronger than ever.