After spells at BA and Thomas Cook, Tony was the third employee to join easyJet. He was central in steering it from ambitious start-up to the biggest single airline in Europe. It now flies twice as many passengers as BA. Tony still works with Stelios on projects like peer-to-peer car rental. In speeches he tells the inside story, including brand extensions that didn’t quite go to plan: “It certainly helps to be in the right place at the right time, but anything is possible providing you avoid complacency.”
After rising through the ranks at British Airways and Thomas Cook, Tony Anderson joined easyJet as the new airline’s third employee six months before the airline’s first flight. As Sales and Marketing Director, he worked closely with Stelios Haji-Ioannou to launch and build the company that became an internet pioneer, a household name and a major force in European aviation.
Tony went on to become easyGroup Marketing Director, sitting on the board of several operations under Stelios’ ever expanding umbrella. He helped take the easy brand into new business areas ranging from car rental and cinemas to a chain of giant internet cafes. Leaving easyGroup, Tony joined the nascent online bank Egg and then TNS, the world’s largest research company now part of WPP. After a stint at a property management and regeneration company, Tony was been appointed Marketing Director of The Children’s Mutual, the only UK firm to specialise exclusively in savings for children. He also worked for Vyke Communications became a director at Bell International, an education service, and rejoined Stelios working on projects within and outside the travel sector.
For more than ten years Tony has lectured on the world-renowned MSc Marketing programme at Imperial College Business School and has been involved with marketing and management education at UCL London, Fudan University Shanghai and Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. Hehas been ranked one of the top marketing names in the UK by Marketing Magazine and has spoken at events for some of the world’s leading brands including Unilever, SAP, DHL, HSBC and Microsoft. He has held senior executive and advisory positions in fields as diverse as football to financial services and has been interviewed by the BBC, CNN and other international news organisations.
Tony is also the author of Gorilla Marketing, the inside story of how easyJet took on the big airlines, and easyLand - How easyJet Conquered Europe. He is also a member of the advisory board of start-up Faradair, a pioneering aerospace company currently developing a hybrid electric aircraft. He remains a consultant and advisor to easyGroup and easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
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