AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has been slammed after posting a photo of himself bare-chested while attending a meeting and at the same time getting a massage.
The picture shows Fernandes shirtless sitting on a chair in what seems to be a company office, as a woman is seen doing a massage on his shoulders.
Fernandes wrote on Linkedin on Monday, 16th October: “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.”
He then links to Veranita’s LinkedIn page, where it says she is: “Indonesia’s first and only female professional airline CEO. I am also privileged to serve as Chairwoman INACA (Indonesia National Air Carrier Association) Scheduled Airlines. “
It is unclear who was providing the massage as the woman is wearing a mask.
Fernandes continued: “We are making big progress, and I have now finalized Capital A structure. Exciting days ahead. Proud of what we have built and never lost sight of the finish.”
AirAsia is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.
However, his post was widely criticised by users, with one saying: “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,”
While another user said: “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!”
And a third one added: “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.”
However, not everyone was so critical towards Fernandes, with one user saying: “My favourite post on LinkedIn. Looking forward to you posting more of your day-to-day office life.”