Reference: GILA/ID/TRN-074/GROUND
Board seat: Independent Director, Non-Executive
Primary board location: Mumbai with major airport-station visits
Meeting model: Monthly boards, fortnightly cash/contract reviews and site assurance
Mandate type: Distress, Restructuring & Turnaround Board Mandate
Status: Confidential live-search specification; client identity released only after conflict clearance and NDA.
The anonymised enterprise
A private aviation ground-services company operating passenger handling, ramp and cargo services at several airports, separate from the pre-IPO operator elsewhere in this portfolio.
Revenue is ₹900–1,300 crore. Two airline customer restructurings, wage inflation and concession fee increases have created liquidity stress and overdue statutory/airport payments.
The board problem and strategic reason for appointment
The board needs a turnaround seat focused on contract-by-contract cash, safe service continuity and stakeholder sequencing. Cost cutting that undermines badge, training or ramp safety is not acceptable.
The board is not buying a credential. It is appointing an independent decision-maker who can convert this problem into a governed sequence of choices, evidence and accountability. Success will be judged by the quality of decisions and control improvement, not by the number of recommendations made.
Board position, authority and interfaces
Independent turnaround director; Chair of Finance/Risk; classification and Section 149 protections to be confirmed for the private company.
The appointee will have direct, unfiltered access to the Company Secretary and to the relevant control-function leaders. Any advisory support requested by the board must remain management-executed: the director sets questions, tolerances and evidence standards, but does not become an executive or consultant.
First 12–18 month strategic charter
- Establish daily/13-week cash and protect payroll, safety and statutory priorities; renegotiate loss-making station contracts using true labour/equipment economics; review airline receivables, airport deposits, bank guarantees and set-off rights; design station exits or partner transitions without unsafe service or licence breach
- Establish a rolling 13-week cash view, decision rights for constrained liquidity, covenant and security visibility, and a board protocol for transactions that could prejudice creditors or minority shareholders.
- Challenge the turnaround thesis plant by plant, contract by contract or route by route; separate reversible operating underperformance from structural value destruction and preserve optionality.
Decision profile sought
Essential evidence
- Aviation services, restructuring, labour-intensive operations or lender leader; cash and contract turnaround; safety judgement
Differentiators
- Airline/customer insolvency, airport concession negotiation or multi-site labour rationalisation
GILA will assess cash-led turnaround judgement, creditor and insolvency awareness, personal composure under liability risk, and a record of making defensible decisions with incomplete information. Candidates should expect a case discussion based on an ambiguous board decision from this mandate, not a career-history interview alone.
Independence, suitability and downside diligence
The search will apply Section 149(6), Sections 164–165, Schedule IV and the applicable listing or sector rules to the entity’s legally verified status at the appointment date. Databank/proficiency status, listed-entity directorship and committee ceilings, pecuniary relationships, relatives’ interests, recent audit/advisory work and interlocking directorships will be checked. The appointment is subject to formal legal and secretarial confirmation; this posting is not a substitute for that determination.
Mandate-specific screens: Airline, airport, lender, union contractor, bidder or promoter ties; expectation of advisory success fee; competing service role.
Before accepting the seat, the candidate will receive under NDA the latest board composition, committee charters, material litigation/regulatory schedule, related-party map, last audited accounts, current D&O policy and the specific risk papers necessary to make an informed liability assessment.
Twelve-month outcomes
The board expects liquidity control, a credible restructuring path and a board record demonstrating informed, conflict-aware decisions in the company’s interest. For this particular seat, the evidence will be:
- Cash control protects critical obligations; contracts are repriced/exited on evidence; station safety and service remain within tolerance through restructuring
Commitment, protection and economics
- Expected load: 35–45 days in first year.
- Terms: One-to-three-year turnaround term; fixed cash fee; D&O/indemnity, safety cover and independent restructuring counsel.
- Protection: Appointment letter, deed of indemnity where legally available, appropriate D&O cover including discovery/run-off terms, access to independent advice under the board-approved protocol, and complete minuting of dissent.
- Equity: No stock options where the appointment is legally an independent-director seat subject to Section 149(9). Any private-company structure outside that perimeter will be expressly classified and separately advised; no equity is implied by this posting.
Search process
Conflict pre-clearance → GILA/SYMPHONY™ board-fit interview → mandate case → document-led diligence under NDA → references from board peers and control functions → NRC/owner interviews → statutory, regulatory and reputation checks → board recommendation. Candidate consent, disclosures and appointment approvals will follow the law and the entity’s constitutional documents.