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​Shakeel Adam BEng, MBA

Managing Director

E-mail: shakeel.adam@aviadopartners.com
M DE: +49 172 1588 188

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Based near Frankfurt, Germany, Shakeel is the Managing Director of Aviado Partners and is a recognized leader in airline restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, commercial strategy and airport growth strategy. Conventional approaches have proven time and time again to most often fail to deliver long-lasting results. Having established himself as one of the world's leading advisors on airline restructuring and turnaround, Shakeel usually departs from such conventional approaches. His particular approach to restructuring business of all sizes speaks for itself with a very strong track record of successful turnarounds in cross-cultural environments around the world.  

 

Shakeel focuses on developing and executing bottom-line improvements with particular experience in airline operational and commercial restructuring and turnaround management, strategic planning, partner strategy (including M&A, alliances and JVs), network and fleet planning, and organisational design. He has extensive operational and senior management experience with top tier airlines and aircraft manufacturers, and as an airline consultant, has advised clients worldwide, most recently advising Boards, executives, government and even a European Prime Minister. 
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Prior to establishing Aviado Partners, Shakeel was the global aviation lead at Grant Thornton UK LLP where he led the consolidation of a global aviation sector practice offering. As a result of this effort, Shakeel initially led the establishment of a centre of excellence spinoff within Grant Thornton UK LLP, ultimately resulting in the establishment of an independant boutique aviation sector specialist consultancy. After tremendous growth and market acceptance, Shakeel led a further spinoff to form Aviado Partners as a top tier boutique consultancy with a strict focus on leadership level management consultancy and practical support for airlines, airports, railways and other key transport-sector and related industries. 

 

Shakeel also previously led the global airline restructuring and commercial consulting practices at Lufthansa Group prior to which he was Director Operations Innovations with Air Canada. A licensed pilot, he began his aviation career as a design engineer at Bombardier Aerospace in Canada where he worked on the Q400, Global Express and Learjet programmes. In addition to aviation experience, Shakeel was the interim President and CEO of a US-based start-up oil & gas exploration company with operations in Russia which he successfully took to the public markets, and worked with a US-based boutique technology strategy consultancy advising clients such as Sprint, Nextel, Bell Canada and NTT Docomo.

 

Languages

English - Fluent

German - Basic conversational

Specialties

Airline Start-up

Airline Restructuring​
Airline Alliances​
Network Planning
Aircraft Selection
Revenue Management

Specialties

  • Commercial and operational restructuring

  • Turnaround planning and management

  • Mergers and Acquisitions (pre- and post-deal)

  • Network and fleet planning / replacement

  • Alliances and bi-lateral partnerships

  • Analysis and feasibility evaluation of start-ups

  • Strategic planning and corporate development

  • Cost reduction programmes

  • Efficient group structures and governance

  • Carve-out and spin-off strategy

  • Organisation design and staff reductions

Recent Assignments

Restructuring:

  • Network and fleet restructuring, Qantas Airways International, Qantas Domestic, Jetstar Australia and Qantas Group

  • Developed pre-privatisation restructuring & separations roadmap for 2nd largest airline in the Middle-East

  • Commercial restructuring of Corsair France, a TUI Group airline

  • Post-privatisation restructuring of European airline

  • Crisis management and commercial assessment of first low cost airline in Russia

  • Shareholder review, sustainability review of a major airline on behalf of it's Institutional investor shareholders

  • Assessment of commercial performance and strategy at a 14 aircraft regional airline in Black Sea region

  • Commercial survival planning and restructuring of a large European cargo airline

  • Restructuring of state-owned airline in the Caribbean

  • Ran business process simplifications in ground handling, in-flight, catering, flight operations and maintenance

  • Dual Brand: Dual brand network optimization, Qantas/Jetstar

  • Network: Network optimization and fleet replacement evaluation for European State-owned airline

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Revenue Management / Yield Management

  • Best fit evaluation of revenue management systems for move to origin & destination RM (PROS and Amadeus considered), Qantas Group

  • Independant review for new CEO of ongoing O&D RM system implementation project at European Airline

  • Audit of Revenue Management practices and processes at $4.5Bn international long haul airline

  • RM strategy development for Group Commercial Director of a global transportation conglomerate with more than $11Bn turnover

  • Advising mid-sized airline in Europe on whether or not to move to Origin and Destination Revenue Management

  • Review of fare structures and proposed revenue management strategy at one of Europe's largest transportation companies

  • Review of RM processes and capabilities at second largest airline in France

  • Assessment of leading Asian airline’s state of readiness for move to O&D revenue management

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Anti-trust and Competition

  • Competition: Compliance monitoring for competition authorities on the major international airline merger between LAN Airlines in Chile and TAM Airlines of Brazil leading to the formation of LATAM Airlines Group

  • Anti-Trust and state-aid: Strategic planning and restructuring of a European state-owned airline compliant with a European Commission approved restructuring plan

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Mergers, Acquisitions and Spinoffs

  • M&A strategy: Buy-side analysis of revenue improvement potential contributing to the winning bid at an acquisition target with ca. $1.3B annual turnover 

  • M&A: Synergy benefits analysis acting for buy-side airline (non-alliance) assessing a merger with a large European airline (global alliance member)

  • M&A: Instigated the successful deal creation for the acquisition of a majority 

  • M&A: Merger planning between 2 airlines – low cost and full service airlines covering different regional markets

  • M&A: Merger between three European regional airlines, streamlining and carving-out non-core businesses

  • M&A: Advised North American PE firm on the business case for investments into two airlines and an engine MRO

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Start-ups

  • Start-up: Start-up of a major regional airline in Europe with narrowbody and turboprop aircraft

  • Start-up: Analysis and feasibility evaluation of business case for start-up of FastJet in Ghana

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Strategy

  • Sales: Sales strategy for a leading Asian Flag Carrier

  • Alliance: Alliance strategy / planning for European airline

  • Alliance: State of readiness review for entry into the oneworld global alliance at S7 airlines

  • Org design: Organisation redesign, establishment of performance management system at fast-growing African carrier

Publications & Media Presence
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