CIONET
Stuart Birrell - easyJet - Aiming for aviation nirvana with the help of digitization
In this #LeadershipDeepDive, Stuart Birrell, CDO & CIO at easyJet, talks with Hendrik Deckers about the competitive market of aviation and how the Covid crisis affected easyJet. Stuart says and explains how easyJet is changing under his leadership to keep up with competitors.
Stuart shares his insights on:
✅ Innovation at easyJet
✅ New operation model
✅ How sustainability has an increasing impact on business operations
✅ Leadership and management style
✅ Failure and lessons that comes with it
Stuart also talks about his business path from building factories for Nissan to running an entire IT department in easyJet.
Table of contents
01:12 | Introduction and Stuart Birrell’s background
04:01 | About easyJet
05:00 | Difference between easyJet and other carriers
06:40 | Changes and the approach to innovation
09:00 | Reaching balance between great technology and being cost conscious
12:40 | Fundamental role of IT in creating the best customer service
16:26 | Innovation at easyJet
21:56 | New operating model
26:20 | Benchmark of success in aviation
28:20 | Thoughtful cloud journey
30:36 | Sustainability
35:30 | Digital & IT organisation in easyJet
42:20 | Role of CIO & management style
50:00 | Leadership style
54:38 | Stuart’s core values
56:46 | Stuart’s MBTI: The Entrepreneur
59:30 | Development areas
01:01:45 | Personal mentors
01:05:05 | Mantra
01:05:58 | Values passed to the family
01:07:25 | Life outside of work
01:08:27 | Fears and loves
01:09:27 | Failures and lessons that come with it
01:12:20 | I am thankful for...
01:13:20 | Advice for young professionals