Merren McArthur

MERREN MC ARTHUR

CEO and President, Lynx Air

Women of Inspiration™ – Women Driving Change Book Contributor

Merren has held executive roles in a variety of industries including Executive Partner at one of Australia’s pre-eminent law firms, Deputy State Solicitor of Western Australia and Chief Advisor for Rio Tinto Iron Ore and several roles in the aviation industry.

What are you most proud of with respect to your success in business? Successfully returning Tigerair Australia to profit in just 18 months. The airline had incurred significant financial losses over a period of five years as it had drifted from its low-cost base over that time, operating two fleet types, an ageing fleet, three crew bases and a failed launch of services to Bali. When I took on the CEO role, team morale was low and the airline had been embroiled in a twoyear-long dispute with its pilots. I restructured the management team, established multiple channels of direct communication across the organization from management to front line pilots and cabin crew. I then embarked on a business simplification program and a technology driven transformation. We reached a “win-win” agreement with the pilots, reduced our costs and improved our revenue to deliver a $50M (10%) improvement in profitability.

What is your definition of success? I don’t have a definition of success per se. For me success is a continual journey. I continually set goals for myself to keep myself mentally stimulated and personally fulfilled. Some of these goals are professional, some are personal and once each goal is achieved, I roll to the next one.

If you won the lottery yesterday, would you continue to operate your business or continue your career path in the same way? Yes, I most certainly would!

COVID-19 is filled with lessons. What was one of the biggest lessons for you? That we should never take for granted the lifestyle and freedoms that we enjoy and that humans have an amazing capacity to innovate and adapt in the face of a crisis.