Handling success with Menzies

Forsyth Black, 37, is the director commercial - Europe, Middle East and Africa for UK-based services company Menzies Aviation. He talks about his role in helping the business to keep moving forward in a competitive industry

Menzies Aviation, which has its headquarters at London Heathrow airport in the UK, provides airline customers with a range of passenger, ramp and cargo-handling services. The division employs over 12,000 people across the world, at 105 airports in 24 countries servicing more than 500 aviation customers. Black joined Menzies six-and-a-half years ago through its MBA management recruitment scheme. Starting as a project manager, he has risen through the ranks and now has responsibility for commercial aspects of the business across three continents.

How did you get into the aviation industry?

Previously I worked as an account manager at Sky television, where I was heavily involved in the design and launch of the Sky Digital satellite service. After that was launched, it was time for a new challenge. Menzies was keen to recruit young ambitious managers as part of its senior management succession planning and the move appealed to me. I started out in Menzies Distribution before moving to the Aviation division about a year later.

What does your job involve?

There are three main strands: managing the customer portfolio mergers and acquisitions work and finding new organic opportunities for Menzies in areas where we are keen to expand. A lot of it is living by your wits to sniff out and secure the best opportunities. For example, last year I led on securing two deals to build and operate cargo warehouses at new greenfield Indian airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, which was terrific for Menzies Aviation as India is a market with huge potential.

What have been the main successes you have been involved with during your time with Menzies?

As well as the Indian deals, Menzies had no operations in Africa when I started. Strategically, it had never been an area that Menzies had coveted. But I have built our African operations up from scratch and we now have five stations providing the full range of ground-handling services, including passenger, ramp and cargo handling. We opened our first station in Dakar, Senegal, in January 2003, followed by four more in Niamey in Niger Malabo in Equatorial Guinea Cotonou in Benin and Accra in Ghana, and we are keen to open more in several other locations. I also was involved in setting up Menzies Client Solutions call centre operation. MCS is an outsourcing operation that now manages 30,000 customer concerns and 60,000 queries for baggage claims annually on behalf of 13 airlines.

What are your main challenges in the year ahead?

My appointment was fairly recent, so I am still adjusting to how my role fits into the management structure of the business. But I'm determined to consolidate the business we have while looking for more opportunities for expansion across the EMEA region and playing my part in ensuring that Menzies is a commercially joined up and coherent unit.

What is your favourite part of working for Menzies Aviation?

I am privileged to work within a dynamic, young and culturally diverse team, all focused on expanding our services and reach at the same time as giving great service at the right price.

Source: Flight International