Pfeffer on Power

Ep 7 – Sadiq Gillani, Senior Advisor, Attestor Capital

Pfeffer on Power

Show Notes

Learn more about Jeffrey Pfeffer and where you can buy or listen to his books: https://JeffreyPfeffer.com/

SHOW NOTES: Meet Sadiq Gillani, a Senior Advisor for travel at Attestor Capital, where he is Chairman The Advisory Board for Condor, the second largest airline in Germany. We discuss how he used his association with Lufthansa to leverage his career, his career philosophy, how he spots new opportunities, personal brand building within a corporation, and surviving the departures of people who hired him at Lufthansa and Emirates. In this episode, we discuss:

Using ideas of power to leverage knowledge and experience toward becoming more successful

His series of career moves created by proactively managing his career

Using power as an amplification of performance

Leveraging platforms and identifying opportunities as they appear

What put him in the ecosystem of travel startups

His experience lecturing at Stanford for six years

How internal and external activities simultaneously reinforce company and personal brands

Aligning his interests with the company’s for mutual benefit

Repositioning himself as an expert on innovation within the travel industry

The questions he asks to spot new opportunities

His transition entirely to a portfolio career, sitting on boards, and advisory work

A word of caution on personal brand building within a corporation

The connection, interdependence, and interplay between the external and internal

Why looking ahead to future implications of current work can pay big dividends

The importance of staying relevant to your network

The trade-off between risk and return within a career

The importance of getting more operating experience to broaden out

Looking broadly into your role within your company

Surviving the departures of the people who hired him at Lufthansa and Emirates

The value of having mentors and friends within your organization

Cultivating internally diversified relationships

GUEST BIO: Sadiq is a Senior Advisor for travel at Attestor Capital, where he is Chairman of the Advisory Board for Condor, the second-largest airline in Germany. He sits on the board of eTraveli, an online travel agency owned by CVC Partners, and the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for Travel. Sadiq is also an Executive Coach and is creating a self-development program based on the work of Carl Jung. He started an MBA course at Stanford on the Travel & Airline industry and was a lecturer there from 2014-2020. He previously headed up the in-house consulting and transformation team of Emirates Group, reporting to Sir Tim Clark. He spent seven years with Lufthansa Group, where he was the Chief Strategy & Innovation officer, reporting to the CEO, and was Head of Network & Fleet at Eurowings. He began his career as a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. and was a partner at Seabury, a boutique airline consulting firm (now part of Accenture). He completed his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School and holds a B.A. and M.Phil in Management Studies from Cambridge University. He was included in the Financial Times' Top 100 leaders list, the World Economic Forum´s Young Global Leaders, and Capital Magazine's Top 40 under 40. SOCIAL MEDIA: Website www.sadiqgillani.comInstagram @sadiq.gillaniLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/sgillani Produced by The www.MunnAvenuePress.com

More from Pfeffer on Power

Mar 26, 2025

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Alex Rodriguez, CEO and Chairman of investment firm Arod Corp, and is known as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and Matt Abrahams, of the Think Fast Talk Smart podcast to co-host this interview. Alex discusses his transition to business and teaching at Stanford. Rodriguez, who co-teaches a class on Strategic Pivoting with Professor Allison Kluger, shares insights into their teaching framework and what he’s learned through teaching. Alex also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and preparation in both his athletic and business endeavors. Alex also touches on handling setbacks, maintaining authenticity, and the value of humility and gratitude in personal development. Alex also shares what he’s learned about effective communication and team-building, and how it can help shape young leaders and athletes. Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Finding resilience in the face of setbacks 23:07: [Jeffrey Pfeffer] So, what advice, in coming back from setbacks—which is, I think, amazing—how did you find the inner resilience to do this? 23:29: [Alex Rodriguez] This is tough. I mean, everybody handles setbacks their own separate way. I don't care who you are. I mean, I don't care how perfect you are. Name the best CEO—he or she—they've had setbacks, I guarantee it. So, again, I think this is where baseball has really helped me because baseball is the epitome of setbacks. So, I think having the resilience, the confidence, the perseverance from inside to keep trying. I mean, I remember in my darkest hour, I would send 10 emails out—one or two responded—and it was heartbreaking. And part of it was 'cause I was a pariah, and people don't wanna be around me. And Allison works really, really hard with the administration, like, you know, vouching for me. And it's something that I'll never forget. I mean, here I am, in my darkest hour, trying to fight back. And Allison, out of all people—they're probably saying, "There are 750 major league baseball players. This is the one? You got the guy that got suspended for all these years?" And she's like, "Yeah, he's actually a nice guy," and this and that. It's like, "Ah, I'm not sure if I'm buying it." But, I mean, here we are seven years later, and I couldn't be more proud of the partnership. How Alex shapes his communication style with his skills 29:38: I think my style of communication is a blend between sports and business, and a little bit of entertainment and levity. I always think about, what is the number one or two things that I'm trying to deliver, and then I'm trying to go—every good story has a good headline, has a beginning, middle, and end. And then maybe go back and repeat my headline, and if I can say more with less words, the better. What makes a great communicator 28:28: Part of being a great communicator is sticking to your circle of competence—speak with passion, but about something where you have real knowledge, where you have something to actually add. Show Links: Alex Rodriguez | LinkedIn Strategic Pivoting for your Next Chapter MattAbrahams.com Think Fast, Talk Smart Podcast

Oct 23, 2024

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI and former CEO of Nextdoor.

Oct 9, 2024

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by James da Costa, co-founder of Fingo Africa, and also author of the book Fintech Wars: Tech Titans, Complex Crypto and the Future of Money.

Sep 25, 2024

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Christine Hung, VP, Head of Client Solutions - Real-world Evidence.

Sep 11, 2024

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Omar Shaya, the founder of MultiOn, an AI company that develops autonomous agents.

See all episodes →