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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0190.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 January 1964 127 BEA's NEXT CHAIRMAN MR ANTHONY MILWARD interviewed by FRANK BESWICK ON April 1 Anthony Milward, OBE, BA, Minstr, officially takesover the chairmanship of British European Airways. Of thetwo new chairmen of the air corporations he has the less newsworthy but in a way the more difficult task. There can be no ready-made excuse if BEA builds up a deficit. BOAC's problems are global and glamorous: BEA's are more routine, detailed and exacting. In this interview I wanted to show the attitude and outlook which BEA's chairman-designate brings to his new job. If any two words could sum it up I would emphasize his reference to "professional pride." There are some trade union negotiators who say that the BEA management is "too tough." Some commentators complain that Mr Milward and his colleagues r«act too sharply to criticism. There may be an element of truth in both charges; if so, a keen pride in the record and future of their public corporation is the explanation. My view, which many must share, is that with the recent announce- ment of Mr Henry Marking as deputy chief executive, BEA start on another chapter led by a team of able and dedicated airline operators. Your appointment as chairman-designate [I put to Mr Milward] was warmly and widely welcomed, especially as it meant something unusual in a public corporation, and unique in our air corporations— the promotion from within to the chairmanship. But will the very fact of your success as chief executive not make it more difficult to shed executive habits and achieve this rather tricky division between the responsibilities of chairman and chief executive ? As you suggest [he replied], it is going to be more difficult for me because I have been doing the chief executive job for almost eight years, and old habits die hard; but I appreciate the danger and the fact that a different outlook is needed. If I did not, the new chief executive would be placed in an impossible position. ITie Chairman's Task •,-..-^:-.-;-;.;:••.-^VST^A ^ And what would you say the different outlook, as chairman, is likely to involve ? To give leadership within the corporation; to provide the contact with the Minister of Aviation; to determine policy on major issues —aircraft procurement, for example; and to fight for the corpor- ation and its proper interests through thick and thin. I spoke of the "tricky division" of responsibilities as between chairman and chief executive, but I am sure everyone would agree that at BEA you have manifestly hit upon a most happy relationship in recent years. What was the secret of this? Lord Douglas always expected me to keep him fully informed about everything of importance which went on within the corpor- ation, but he also made it a practice never to interfere with executive management. I intend to follow that course. out full information and non-interference must itself mean a delicate balance? Yes, but in my time it never failed. I put this down to the com- plete and absolute mutual trust which existed, not only between chairman and chief executive, but at all levels. The chairman and never exchanged correspondence; everything was done by con- versation—a method you can adopt only when there is this trust. I should add that during his term of office the chairman always maintained the view that it was perfectly proper for him to talk with staff at all levels—and I mean at all levels—but he never made life difficult for his chief executive by giving instructions. By such means we ensured a remarkable degree of information about policy and practice throughout the corporation. Lord Douglas always regarded this sort of communication as essential if policy decisions were to be properly based. You said earlier that you conceived part of your role as fighting for the corporation and its interests; inevitably, in view of recent debates, one thinks of this in relation to suggestions of undue influence by the Minister. What would be your position in the event of Ministerial interference ? I would fight tooth and nail against any interference in our affairs, from any quarter. If the Minister suggested we should do something against our better judgment, I should expect directions to that effect in writing. I would add that the present Minister has told me that this is exactly the way he also sees the position; and it is equally fair to say that BEA has been remarkably free from "undue influence" from the Ministry in the past. . . Reciprocal Responsibility You are now joining the board of BO AC on a reciprocal arrange- ment—how do you expect this is going to work out ? Do you think it will mean a more fruitful exchange of experience than did the previous regular meetings of the corporation chairmen ? There has been a rather unfair attempt to denigrate those meet- ings, but they did a good deal. Nevertheless, I think the fact that I have some responsibility for BOAC, in the same way as Sir Giles Guthrie has for BEA, will make us all the more anxious to achieve additional co-operation. In what fields would you expect this co-operation to show results ? I would think there was considerable scope on the marketing side. I have personally never believed in the two corporations having shops all over Europe, in the same cities. I hope we can achieve something more sensible in this direction. There is, also, I am sure, room for more co-operative working between the two corporations' personnel departments. Now, what about your attitude to the independent operators ? This is in many ways the biggest problem of all—for the nation and not just for BEA. This country is trying to do something quite unheard of—namely, to run a mixed economy with nationalized and independent enterprises within the same industry and doing the same jobs. It is as though, 20 years ago, the nation had left the electricity supply for big urban areas in private hands, and had then formed a nationalized corporation to run electric power to outlying parts of the country. No one in his senses would have suggested such a piece of nonsense. Yet that is virtually what we are now trying to do in air transport. If there are to be both public and private undertakings in aviation, then the only clear-cut division which would eliminate overlapping would be for BEA to run those scheduled services which they wish to run, with the independents operating the great charter, in- clusive-tour charter, car ferry and trooping business. These
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