Michael O'Leary by Matt Cooper

Author:Matt Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241315644
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-08-06T16:00:00+00:00

14. Changing of the guard

The story of Ryanair is largely the story of two men, both very similar and yet very different. Tony Ryan was the instigator, while Michael O’Leary is the operator. They were of a type – aggressive, delighting in confrontation, full of self-belief and confidence that borders on arrogance, and astute business minds that don’t suffer fools at all. For all that, they were also markedly different. Ryan cultivated a very particular image, an air of gentility and success, and that public face was very important to him. He might have been a difficult boss behind closed doors, but to the world he projected the image of gentleman CEO. O’Leary doesn’t hold with any of that. His style of management is just as confrontational, but he has no desire to be held in high esteem. When they looked at each other, they understood each other instinctively, but they also clashed in a fury of fundamental difference. It was a fascinating relationship.

O’Leary was, to all intents and purposes, part of the Ryan family. In some respects, he was treated better than Ryan’s natural sons, according to various sources. ‘Tony loved him and it was mutual,’ said Jim King, a close friend of Ryan and one of his most trusted colleagues at GPA. ‘He loved him like a son and wanted what was best for him. Tony saw raw intelligence in Michael and also decisiveness in implementing a decision, once he had first considered all of the facts. Michael often displayed sheer courage in doing something, he was persistent, dogged, refused to give up and Tony admired all of that.’

People needed strength of character to be able to stand up to Ryan’s tirades, to deliver on his demands, to back off when necessary. They fought, but it was without rancour for the most part. They were able to forgive and forget quickly, moving on to the next challenge. Although O’Leary was only in his mid twenties when they first started working together, he was not afraid to stand up to Ryan and tell him what he thought in expletive-laden rants that were returned in kind. Far from being insulted or angry, Ryan was delighted. ‘Tony would deliberately provoke him, like he did with many people, but it was all designed to get those on the receiving end to perform better than they thought they could,’ King said. ‘He did it with all of us. Tony heaped responsibility on people, you had to prove to him that you could do it. Michael did that in spades.’

For his part, O’Leary was greatly influenced by how Ryan operated. He understood and aped his abrasiveness. At Ryanair he copied the Monday-morning management meetings that had become famous at GPA. He held management to account and was loudly and aggressively demanding of them, to get the best out of them, as he saw it. O’Leary became known for vicious verbal assaults that were described in the company lore as ‘hate beams’. O’Leary may not have many people he’s loyal to in his life, but he was loyal to Ryan.

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