An airline boss, who’s had turns as a Premier League club owner with QPR and with his own F1 motor sport team, has apologised for posting a photograph of himself topless and getting a massage during a work meeting.
Tony Fernandes, the founder of Air Asia, shared the image on LinkedIn. However it was removed a few days later, amid a torrent of criticism.
His post drew criticism from the internet that it seemed and was deemed “inappropriate“.
In the caption, he wrote, “Was a stressful week and Veranita Yosephine suggested a massage. Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I Can have a massage and do a management meeting.”
“We are making big progress and I have now finalized Capital A structure. Exciting days ahead. Proud of what we have built and never have lost sight of the finish,” he added.
Since being shared on the platform, its amassed plenty of commentary, mostly of a negative hue.
“A grown man, who is the chief executive of a publicly listed company, conducts a management meeting with his shirt off as he gets a massage.
Remove “who is the chief executive of a publicly listed company” and it is still inappropriate,” a user said.
A second person added, “Work at AirAsia, where meetings are as gross as our passenger experience. You have managed to capture everything from inappropriate entitlement to exemplary C Suite tone deafness in a single image. Bravo!”
“I’m going to assume that this meeting took place long after the workday was over and most of the office was empty (except a few C-level), but at least put on a shirt for the photo.,” commented another person.
“I hope not but I think someone hacked into his LI and wrote this,” remarked a user.
“Yea, maybe this isn’t the best way to show off work culture? Don’t think you are giving the intended impression you hoped it would,” said another user.
A sixth person said, “Tony when you said Air Asia had an open culture I didn’t expect it to be THIS open… “
