About Ashish Babbar

From Hawaii to Portmarnock. That is the novel geographical journey that Aer Lingus Head of Joint Venture & Franchise Partnerships Mr Ashish Babbar had made over last eight years. He and his wife made a fateful decision to come to Ireland in 2013 and while Ashish had never visited Europe before, he was not daunted. That sense of being stimulated by a challenge, rather than being daunted, seems to be a defining characteristic of his career pathway. As he says himself, he is ‘motivated’ by challenge.

That change in 2013 from the sunny backdrop of Hawaii occurred when his wife landed a role in Dublin in high frequency trading and this is what brought Ashish to Ireland originally. For the first two years in Ireland he worked remotely, for his former employer in Hawaii, but he was looking for a change. In time he would make  a decision to take a full-time MBA at UCD Smurfit. But before any of that, its worth going back a little in his story.

Originally born in New Delhi, India, Ashish’s study life began in North Maharashtra University in India, where he graduated in 2003 with an Electrical Engineering degree. He decided to undertake a Masters in Electrical Engineering that year and while leaving India was a big change, the sun and scenery at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (located in Honolulu) must have represented a certain consolation.

After completing his academic work there, Ashish found himself undertaking research with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii for several years, both as a systems engineer and program manager, much of the time it meant working with airlines. As he says, that is when the aviation ‘bug’ bit him.

He describes much of the work at the time as predictive maintenance, using technology to ensure aircraft engines performance improvement and potential stress points could be identified and dealt with ahead of time. It also gave him huge insights into the engineering side of aviation, including engine types. This later would be important in his career, although he did not know that at the time.

Ashish was for a time looking at a role with US company Lockheed Martin, but eventually his wife secured the role with the Irish firm and suddenly Ashish had a chance to move somewhere else, but also  expand his career horizons ultimately. While he deeply enjoyed his time working in the engineering and technology side of aviation, he had a hankering to get involved in the business side and particularly business decision making. For many years the lack of a formal business qualification had stymied him somewhat,  but the move to Ireland in 2013 started to open some doors. This began with a place on UCD’s Smurfit MBA course which he was accepted onto in 2015.

“The issue I was facing was, I was getting the line ‘you are a pure researcher, you don’t have corporate experience’, but until I get an opportunity how can I prove myself,’’ is how he recalls the conundrum he had, before taking on the MBA. That MBA he now describes as the ‘stepping stone’ to his first pure corporate role. He enjoyed the course hugely, including the diversity of the student body and how one could learn from your peers. The teaching of Prof Niamh Brennan and Prof Brian McGrath he remembers fondly in particular and the general accessibility of the academic staff. He laughs that there were two marriages within his MBA class of 34, and he just smiles when its suggested there must be a little romance in the air in UCD Smurfit!

“We all became friends for life in a way. The ones that stayed in Ireland are the ones I’ve stayed in contact with the most,” he says. He also adds that taking an MBA was challenging enough, but he added to the challenge when his daughter was also born during that period, an experience he was able to share with another student in the class who was in the same position.

 Leaving aside study and family, networking was something he learned from that hectic year, as his biggest career break was also to flow from that MBA. As he came towards finishing his programme, he attended a UCD careers fair and got talking to an Aer Lingus HR representative at that time, Cpt Conor O’Dwyer.

As Ashish remembers it, they had a lively conversation about aircraft engine parameters and a connection was made. Ashish kept in contact- networking as he was told to do on the MBA programme- and eventually a role in Aer Lingus, following interview, came up. But not just any role, Ashish was to be Business Support Specialist to the CEO at the time, Stephen Kavanagh. It was a great introduction to the airline and Ashish is very grateful to this day for a chance to work with Kavanagh, who he describes as a great mentor.

  “Given the role he was doing, he took time out. He told me this is a short-term role, because I want your knowledge, but you should carve out a role within the organisation itself for yourself. You can’t be my assistant forever. So I’m giving you 6 to 12 months in this role, to understand the business and shadow me and see what we do here,’’ is how Ashish explains the situation at the time. This arrangement seems to have worked smoothly as less than a year later Ashish’s talents were employed in further roles at Aer Lingus, including as Corporate Strategy Manager and these days he plies his trade as the Airline’s Head of Joint Ventures/Franchises.

All of this required great adaptability from Babbar and he accepts that leaving India all those years ago may have helped him to be that adaptable. “It definitely helps, because then you are not scared of change,’’ he states. He points out that the original move to Dublin, triggered by his wife getting the job there, was a ‘blind move’, in the sense that neither had been to Ireland or Europe before.

 “People were like ‘have you lost your mind’,’’ he recalls now laughing. “Its inherent in my nature now, that I can adapt,’’ is how he summarises it. One of those adaptable pieces was the ability to learn the aviation sector inside out and all its acronyms and jargon, but he got there, often thanks to help from colleagues. He describes the ‘strength’ of the Aer Lingus business as being this willingness to help out each other and the .

His adaptability is the ideal characteristic for a role in aviation, a sector which was turned upside down by the Covid pandemic.  He agrees this was a stressful period. “You don’t want to see your assets, your planes, sitting on the ground,” he says. But he also points out that much work was done readying the airline for the post Pandemic era, for example he was involved in renewing a franchise partnership contract at this time. He says the shifting gears that you find in aviation is something he likes, describing every day as ‘fresh’ with a curved ball or two coming your way. He intends to stay in the industry and believes it will provide further opportunities in the years ahead. Aer Lingus itself is a growing company, adding a Manchester base to its Irish operations over recent years, for instance.

Life for Ashish meanwhile is currently centered around his job and family  in the pleasant seaside town of Portmarnock, in north Dublin. Some of his old MBA classmates live in the same area, giving him a valuable support network. He says the speed and demands of the aviation sector are very stimulating and its clear from the conversation with him, he knows the airline’s business inside out. While he realises that life in Hawaii was very different he is glad bold decisions from a few years ago are now paying off. While aircraft engines are vitally important, knowing more than just engine parameters is important to career advancement in this pacey and bustling sector.

Now Ashish Babbar smiles every time he hears the phrase, ‘it’s not exactly rocket science’, to which he replies, ‘I’ve done the rocket science part’.

Insight Track

Reflecting on your time at UCD, what experience stands out as particularly impactful or memorable?

My ambition was to break into Corporate Strategy specifically in the Aviation industry, in this context the experience of taking the Corporate Strategy & Strategy Execution modules with Dr McGrath was both impactful and valuable for me. These courses and associated case studies assisted me in being better prepared when the opportunity came to apply this knowledge in my current role.

Is there a particular book or song you have carried with you for much of your life?

Ganbatte!: The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward; 

It discusses the Japanese philosophy on how to get past obstacles and keep motivated to continue moving forward.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received, funny or serious?

 “Learn one positive attribute/trait from everyone you meet in life and incorporate that into your life, by doing this by the time you end your journey you will be a better person than when you started”

What's a hobby or activity you've always wanted to try but haven't gotten around to yet?

I enjoy swimming and snorkelling but have not a chance yet to do scuba diving which is an activity I would like to do at the next available opportunity

If you could have a conversation with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask that person?

Leonardo Da Vinci, I am fascinated by Italian history and culture. Da Vinci being a polymath of his time, I would like to ask him what was his favourite subject/trait from his various areas of expertise (art, engineering, sculpting, science, architecture ) and why.

July 2024