Russell Shaw
General Manager Finance and Commercial at Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA)- Claim this Profile
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Bio
John Thomas
Russell brings a great combination of strategic thinking and practical prowess to a range of critical commercial activities in the airline business be they commercial partnerships, revenue management, or network planning. He is highly analytical and applies that skill to complex issues and their inevitable interdependencies. He is a good leader and leads by example encouraging his team members to push through to a higher level of understanding and analysis. And he gets results. He led the initiative to re-negotiate the successful Delta/Virgin Australia JV that was a win/win developing enhanced economics for both carriers.
John Thomas
Russell brings a great combination of strategic thinking and practical prowess to a range of critical commercial activities in the airline business be they commercial partnerships, revenue management, or network planning. He is highly analytical and applies that skill to complex issues and their inevitable interdependencies. He is a good leader and leads by example encouraging his team members to push through to a higher level of understanding and analysis. And he gets results. He led the initiative to re-negotiate the successful Delta/Virgin Australia JV that was a win/win developing enhanced economics for both carriers.
John Thomas
Russell brings a great combination of strategic thinking and practical prowess to a range of critical commercial activities in the airline business be they commercial partnerships, revenue management, or network planning. He is highly analytical and applies that skill to complex issues and their inevitable interdependencies. He is a good leader and leads by example encouraging his team members to push through to a higher level of understanding and analysis. And he gets results. He led the initiative to re-negotiate the successful Delta/Virgin Australia JV that was a win/win developing enhanced economics for both carriers.
John Thomas
Russell brings a great combination of strategic thinking and practical prowess to a range of critical commercial activities in the airline business be they commercial partnerships, revenue management, or network planning. He is highly analytical and applies that skill to complex issues and their inevitable interdependencies. He is a good leader and leads by example encouraging his team members to push through to a higher level of understanding and analysis. And he gets results. He led the initiative to re-negotiate the successful Delta/Virgin Australia JV that was a win/win developing enhanced economics for both carriers.
Credentials
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CFA Charterholder
CFA InstituteDec, 2005- Nov, 2024 -
Chartered Accountant (South Africa)
South African Institute of Chartered AccountantsDec, 2005- Nov, 2024
Experience
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Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA)
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Australia
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Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
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1 - 100 Employee
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General Manager Finance and Commercial
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Mar 2022 - Present
Lead the commercial and finance functions for the company. Achievements so far include: ★ Raising of capital to provide ongoing liquidity to business ★ Commercial contract negotiations with NASA ★ Sourced and originated various insurance contracts ★ Helped deliver Australia's first commercial rocket launches in June and July Lead the commercial and finance functions for the company. Achievements so far include: ★ Raising of capital to provide ongoing liquidity to business ★ Commercial contract negotiations with NASA ★ Sourced and originated various insurance contracts ★ Helped deliver Australia's first commercial rocket launches in June and July
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Virgin Australia
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Australia
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Airlines and Aviation
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700 & Above Employee
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General Manager - Network, Revenue Management & Alliances
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Feb 2016 - Oct 2021
Virgin Australia Airlines Division ELT member with P&L accountability for the alliance partner revenue base, group passenger revenue, network design and scheduling as well as alliance partner relationships. Leading a team of 75, designed and optimised the global network with 140 aircraft. Led strategic initiatives and consulted with the board and group ELT to manage risks, challenges, and opportunities.Reported to: Group Executive/CEO, Group Chief Commercial Officer► Direct Reports: 5, Indirect Reports: 70► Revenue Budget: ~$4.0bn p.a._________________________________KEY ACHIEVEMENTS★ Formulated the network and customer strategy for Virgin 2.0, presented to the board in Nov 2019.★ Launched a new fare brand in 2016. Delivered record unit revenues for domestic fares in 2019. ★ Renegotiated contracts with a major alliance partner in 2016, facilitating a U.S. market expansion in 2017.★ Key role in the delivery of ~$4.0bn of revenue p.a. - maximised weekly ticket sales through active pricing and allocation of seating.★ Developed a new sales distribution strategy in 2019 to drive competitiveness, capitalising on enhanced data and analytics and new distribution platforms.★ Managed continual improvement of profitability, delivering initiatives such as an aircraft platform exit and an innovative partnership with a regional carrier.★ Improved engagement through culture and leadership changes. ★ Managed the exit of loss-making routes and recalibrated the international network to focus on the U.S. and China.★ Led negotiations with Commonwealth and State governments to stand up a minimum viable network through the COVID crisis, delivering critical cashflow during voluntary administration.★ Developed a post-voluntary administration network plan that formed the basis of a future business plan which new investor Bain Capital bought into. Show less
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Executive General Manager - Fleet, Network and Yield
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Feb 2016 - Sep 2016
Interim role reporting into the Group CEO during an executive restructure. Blended accountability of fleet (asset) planning network planning, and revenue management. After the appointment of the new Virgin Australia Airlines Group Executive, the portfolio was restructured to network and revenue management accountability, post-restructure, later adding alliances.Reported to: Group CEO► Direct Reports: 5, Indirect Reports: 56_________________________________KEY ACHIEVEMENTS★ Planned and led $100m of business improvement initiatives as part of Virgin Group’s $300m Better Business program including fleet simplification and recalibration of international network.★ Worked with external advisors and CFO to build a pipeline of initiatives supporting the $846m recapitalisation of Virgin Australia (2016). Prepared board papers, reports and packs validating opportunities.★ Managed employee impacts flowing from fleet simplification, consulting with union leaders to get buy-in and collaborating with staff to provide transparency over business and performance drivers. Show less
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General Manager, Group Financial Planning and Analysis
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Nov 2013 - Feb 2016
Accountable for a portfolio including group fleet planning, route profitability, non-aircraft CAPEX, investor relations, a company-wide cost reduction program, long-term financial modelling, budgeting, month-end analysis, and quarterly re-forecasting. Drove uplifts in reporting, data, and analytics and acquired an expanded portfolio after early successes.Reported to: Group CFO► Direct Reports: 4, Indirect Reports: 20_________________________________KEY ACHIEVEMENTS★ Acted as the face of the company to equity/debt investors and equity analysts for 2 years. Developed investor packs, attended investor meetings with the CEO and CFO, coordinated marketing roadshows with sponsoring brokers, and ensured company compliance with ASX listing requirements.★ Drove a major uplift to route profitability reporting, delivering a critical enabler for network performance, improving network and scheduling decisions, and providing understanding of cost and revenue drivers.★ Embedded a long-term group fleet planning strategy, reducing capital commitments for new aircraft, making better use of assets and removing residual asset value risk.★ Worked closely with CFO and Treasurer to establish an external credit rating with Moody's and S&P.★ Identified operating cost savings through the early retirement of 2 loss-making A330 aircraft, delivering over >$10m p.a. of savings for the group from 2015.★ Key role in modelling the residual acquisition of Tigerair by Virgin Australia in late 2014, working closely with the Tigerair CEO to identify post-acquisition integration synergies.★ Introduced a Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) concept, embedded internally as a management KPI and communicated to the market, receiving positive feedback from the board, investors and analysts. Show less
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Macquarie Group
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Australia
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Financial Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Associate Director | Senior Equity Research Analyst
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Dec 2007 - Nov 2013
Rapidly promoted to an Associate Director role as the Lead Analyst for 12 stocks in the Transport, Aviation, Food and Beverages sectors, representing a market cap of ~$45bn. Mentored junior analysts and became recognised as an SME for the aviation sector. Reported to: Executive Director, Head Of Equity Research _________________________________ KEY ACHIEVEMENTS ★ 5 years in a row, won a top 3 institutional analyst ranking, for the Australian transport sector. ★ Collaborated with Macquarie Capital to raise $500m for Qantas in 2009 during the GFC. ★ Supported ad-hoc equity capital market activities, providing client advisory services, deal structuring advice and supporting M&A and ECM discussions with private companies and private equity firms. ★ Developed deep relationships with industry sector contacts, industry senior executives, and Macquarie’s institutional clients. Show less
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PwC
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Professional Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Manager, Capital Markets
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Mar 2006 - Dec 2007
Manager in the Capital Markets Assurance division in Tokyo, servicing major financial services clients such as Nikko Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Alliance Bernstein. Exposure included structured products and exotics, controls and assurance testing, asset management, Sarbanes Oxley process validation and property management companies.Worked in both multinational and Japanese teams. Youngest expat to be promoted to manager in PwC Japan’s history.
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Assistant Manager, Banking
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Jan 2003 - Mar 2006
Assistant Manager in the Banking Assurance division, servicing major financial services clients including Standard Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, First National Bank, ABSA Fund Managers and Stanlib.Gained exposure to several industries including private equity, corporate credit, equity derivatives, funds management and head office consolidations. Managed teams of up to four trainee accountants, with an active focus on professional development and learning.
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Education
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2002 - 2002
University of Cape Town
Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting -
1998 - 2001
University of Cape Town
Bachelor of Business Science, Finance and Strategy
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