Robert John Ayling (born 3 August 1946), also known as Bob Ayling, is a British retired lawyer and businessman who has worked with a variety of high-profile companies and organisations. From 1996 to 2000, he was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

. He also served as chairman of

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...

, Dŵr Cymru (

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

), and

Dyson Dyson may refer to: * Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson * Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson * Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon * Dyson (operating system), a Unix general-pur ...

. Ayling was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the Queen's 2018 Birthday Honors List.

Early life

Ayling was born in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

the son of a grocer, George and civil servant Hilda. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

but left school at 16 after his father's business failed, and took articles with a solicitor. He passed his professional examinations by 19 and in 1968 was admitted a solicitor at 21.

Career

Ayling, a lawyer, began his career as a solicitor in private practice before joining the Department of Trade and Industry in 1974. In 1985, he joined

(BA), initially as legal director, where he was responsible for the legal aspects of BA's privatisation and the acquisition of

British Caledonian British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...

. He went on to hold a series of senior management positions including director of human resources and director of marketing and operations. Ayling was appointed group managing director of BA in 1993 and chief executive in 1996. A key policy of Ayling's time was reduction in operating costs to enable the airline to survive in the more competitive markets following de-regulation of the aviation industry. His policies, including setting up in 1998 of the low cost airline ' Go' with Barbara Cassani as CEO, drew intense hostility from the trade unions. He also pursued a merger and establishment of a strategic alliance with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

and BA's investment in

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. Ayling re-introduced beds on long haul flights and was the main protagonist and promoter of BA's

London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...

project for the Millennium. In 2000, he was replaced at BA, following continued trade union opposition, by

Rod Eddington Sir Roderick Ian Eddington AO FTSE (born 2 January 1950) is an Australian businessman. He was first appointed to the board of News Corporation in 1999, still serves on News Corp board and also serves on the board of another of Rupert Murdoch' ...

. Ayling joined the board of

Dyson Ltd Dyson Limited, commonly known just as Dyson, is a Singaporean based multinational technology company founded by James Dyson. First established in 1991 at Malmesbury, England, it designs and manufactures household appliances such as vacuum cleane ...

in 2001 serving until 2012, including a stint as chairman from 2010 to 2012. He was also appointed a non-executive Director of Holidaybreak Plc, the specialist holiday and activity group, in February 2003, before becoming chairman in June 2003. He retired in April 2009. He was appointed a non-executive director of Dŵr Cymru (

) in 2008, becoming chairman in 2009. He retired in 2017. He was appointed first independent chairman of

HM Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunal ...

on its creation in April 2011. He led the major Reform of the Service serving under six Lord Chancellors and three Lord Chief Justices. He retired in April 2018.Official UK Government Announcement of Ayling's successor.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayling, Bob People educated at King's College School, London 1946 births British airline chief executives British Airways people English chief executives Living people English solicitors People from Battersea