Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes, a Malaysian, aged 60, is Capital A’s Non-Independent Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. He has been appointed to the Board on 30 March 2018. He is responsible for the overall strategic planning and business direction of Capital A Group.

One of Asia’s most recognisable entrepreneurs, Tony Fernandes is best known for co-founding AirAsia with Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and democratising air travel in the region. Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin famously bought the ailing airline for a token MYR1 (approximately USD0.25) and MYR40 million in debt, turning it around within two years and growing it from a Malaysian domestic carrier into Asia’s fourth largest airline. Over the past 23 years, he has played an pivotal role in growing the airline from 2 planes with 200 staff to now a fleet of 250 aircraft, carrying 90 million passengers a year, and 900 million passengers since inception.

Since 2018, Fernandes has been spearheading a digital transformation of his businesses, launching AirAsia MOVE in October 2020 (then airasia Superapp), an online travel platform which offers flights, hotels, and e-hailing services among others. He was instrumental in transforming Capital A Group into a conglomerate offering services beyond aviation, namely aviation MRO services under ADE, a travel-related services platform under AirAsia MOVE Group, logistics services under Teleport Group, fintech services under BigPay Group, as well as in-flight catering services and food products and services under Santan.

He studied in the United Kingdom and qualified as an Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1991, and as a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1996. He is also a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

An accountant by training, he started out his career in the United Kingdom as Auditor in Brewers Chartered Accountants in September 1987 and subsequently joined Virgin Music Group Limited as Financial Controller in December 1987. In 1990, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in Warner Music Group.

He has received numerous honours and awards over the course of his career. These include the Honour of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2011, and the Commander of the Legion d'Honneur, awarded by the French Government in 2013 for outstanding contributions to the economy of France through the aviation industry. He also received the Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) award conferred by Yang Di Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, which carries the title Tan Sri.