Why Air NZ’s new CEO is cause for excitement, not backlash

Monday, 11 August 2025

Currently Air New Zealand's chief digital officer, Nikhil Ravishankar will officially take over as airline’s CEO in October. That is cause for celebration and an opportunity for New Zealand, writes Sarah Meikle.

Sarah Meikle runs All India Permit Tours, specialising in small group, luxury travel to all parts of India. She is the former director of Wellington On a Plate.

OPINION: Like many New Zealanders, I read with great interest and pride about the recent appointment of Nikhil Ravishankar as CEO of Air New Zealand. As someone who spends close to six months each year in India operating my travel company, All India Permit Tours, I was genuinely thrilled.

I’m one of many Kiwis who love India. My connection with the country goes back more than 20 years. In the early 2000s, while working for Tourism New Zealand, I had the privilege of helping to establish our very first office in Mumbai. I then worked in India for five years. Since then, my ties have only deepened, both professionally and personally.

Today, I lead small-group tours through India, designed for curious, well-travelled people, many of them New Zealanders, who are eager to look beyond the tourist trail. These travellers want to explore not just India’s beauty and complexity, but also its humanity. They visit artisans in their workshops, share chai in people’s homes, and walk through markets that have thrived for centuries.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a New Zealand business delegation to India in March.

Earlier this year, while in India, I had the opportunity to attend a NZ Inc function hosted at the High Commission in Delhi. The Prime Minister and several senior ministers were present, along with the largest-ever business delegation NZ has sent anywhere in the world. It was a powerful statement of intent - a clear signal that India matters.

At that event, I had the chance to meet Nikhil. It was a brief but memorable conversation, and I left with the impression that he was destined for greater things. Fast forward to August 2025, and Nikhil was announced as the new CEO of Air New Zealand, following a global search.

It was heartening to see the appointment go to someone from within the organisation; someone digitally astute, commercially focused, and with a clear vision for growth. And yet, almost immediately, a small but vocal corner of New Zealand erupted in backlash, not over his credentials or performance, but over his ethnicity. That his Indian heritage became a lightning rod for criticism is both disturbing and, regrettably, familiar.

What could possibly be the motivation behind these comments? We have to ask ourselves, as a country: what message are we sending? Not just to Nikhil, but to every other young Kiwi of diverse background watching this unfold?

People crowd around a street food vendor at a busy market in New Delhi. Nikhil Ravishankar’s appointment at the helm of Air NZ is a golden opportunity to deepen ties with the dynamic country, writes Sarah Meikle.

More broadly, we need to realise that this moment is about more than one appointment. It is a golden opportunity to deepen New Zealand’s relationship with India; one of the most important and dynamic nations in the world today.

Trust me, this is major news in India. Indians take enormous pride in the global success of their citizens and diaspora. Today, leaders of Indian origin head some of the most influential companies in the world: Microsoft, Google, Adobe, IBM, Novartis, Chanel, to name just a few. Education, aspiration and achievement are deeply woven into the social fabric.

By contrast, New Zealand still struggles with a tall poppy syndrome that can be difficult to explain to outsiders. In India, success is celebrated, not cut down. Perhaps we have something to learn.

Sarah Meikle runs All India Permit Tours, and has a 20-plus years association with India.

The timing could not be more critical. The recent business delegation was built around momentum for a long-awaited free trade agreement. A closer partnership with India could open transformative opportunities for our exporters, tourism operators, education providers and innovators. In a world facing rising tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, India offers scale, stability and massive potential.

There is also real discussion about direct air connectivity between our two countries - a vital piece of the puzzle. With an Air New Zealand CEO of Indian descent, and a Kiwi at the helm of Air India, the stars have rarely aligned so well. And yet, the backlash speaks volumes. I don’t recall any such reaction in India when Campbell Wilson was appointed CEO of Air India. So why this and why now?

I’ll return to India shortly, accompanied by a group of thoughtful, open-hearted New Zealanders. They are excited to immerse themselves in a country that is culturally rich, technologically advanced, and alive with ideas and energy. But I know I will be asked about the backlash. Indians follow international media. They will want to know: Why are some New Zealanders so uncomfortable with diversity at the top?

This is more than an image problem. If we truly want to grow our visitor market (particularly in shoulder and low seasons), attract international students, encourage investment, and diversify our trade portfolio, we must earn the trust of India. Relationships are built on respect, not racism.

India is not just an important market. It is a country of breathtaking diversity, talent, creativity and ambition. Every New Zealander I take there sees this for themselves.

We have much to gain by seeing India more clearly and far more to lose if we don’t.

I, for one, am excited to see where Nikhil takes Air New Zealand next.