inBUSINESS Issue 12

‘THE WHOLE PLANET REPORTS TO ME’
Take it from inBusiness, the speaker is not as self-important as it sounds. As one at the helm of
Africa’s oldest national airline carrier, Hailu is simply stating a fact because Ethiopian is turning
70 this year and spreading its wings further as the flag bearer of the continent’s only country that
was never colonised, writes TUDUETSO TEBAPE
If there was a category for the most
ideal place to conduct an interview,
the winner of such a prize would
be the setting inside Ethiopian
Airlines’ Boeng 737 800 at Sir Seretse
Khama International Airport for the
interview for the Executive Profile
section of this edition of inBusiness
Magazine.
Our ‘quarry’ is a handsome and
unmistakably friendly - if somewhat
slight - man whose
modesty is quite
incongruent with
the usual toffeenosed
attitude of the
‘fat cats’ who inhabit
environs such this
and out of touch
with the fact that
his country is the
only one in Africa
that has never
been colonized by
European powers.
After obtaining
special clearance to
board the stationary
aircraft for the
interview with the
MD of Ethiopian Airlines International
Services, Esayas Woldemariam Hailu, we
are beginning to enjoy the tableau when
it is revealed that the plane that we are
sitting in will depart for Addis Ababa
in a few minutes, thus leaving a total 10
minutes to conclude the interview.
He is here to sample a newly acquired
route that transits through Victoria Falls
on the flight from Addis to Gabs. Hailu
is happy to see us and does not seem
bothered by our encroaching on his
limited time.
Without any further ado, he delves
into his association with Africa’s oldest
national airline carrier, Ethiopian Airlines,
as we get down to business straight away.
“I joined Ethiopian Airlines fresh from
school in 1990 after pursuing science as
a student,” he says. “I have worked here
for 27 years and haven’t worked anywhere
else.”
This brings to mind
leadership expert,
John C. Maxwell, who
places a high premium
on consistency as
factor of success.
“When you live with
consistency, you
learn that the rewards
you seek in life don’t
come after you take
one step; they come
when you’ve taken
a journey to a place
you’ve never been,”
the guru once said.
For Hailu,
c o n s i s t e n t
commitment to work
www.inbusiness.co.bw | Issue 12 | 2017 17