Barbara Cassani

Barbara is probably best known as the original chair of the bid by London for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a position she eventually relinquished to former world record holder and gold medallist Sebastian Coe. Cassini’s appointment was questioned by some who knew her as a highly successful businesswoman but with no experience of sports.

However, it soon became apparent that sporting knowledge was less important than business acumen and Barbara’s skills and hard work allowed London to make excellent progress in the bid. A year after passing the baton to Coe, the bid was successful.

As a motivational speaker, Cassini can not only draw on her experience in the fiercely competitive – and heavily male-dominated – world of sport but also her time with British Airways in the USA and as the founder of the airline’s Go Fly ‘low-cost’ flight service (she later became chief executive of the company after leading a management buy-out from BA).

Barbara has also been a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer, a management consultant for Coopers & Lybrand, executive chair of Jurys Inn hotels, and chair of Spain’s burgeoning Vueling airline. Her experiences at Go Fly are detailed in her award-winning book Go – An Airline Adventure.