Disruptive Leader
This innate restlessness and curiosity shaped Boag into what he describes as “a disruptive leader.” He explains, “The tendency for an organization is to get stuck in its ways and not adapt. I tend to say, ‘Let’s do this another way,’ and that can be hard because our natural tendency is to resist change. But change always happens. For instance, when I started my career with a wet compass, GPS didn’t exist and now we use it all the time. If you’re not moving forward and improving your business, you’re actually going backwards.”
This philosophy is one reason why Boag is enthusiastic about Avincis’ new partnership with CityAirbus NextGen. “We have a responsibility to provide emergency services, and that partnership will help us shape the future of emergency operations,” he says. “If we can be part of how future aircraft are powered and used, that’s pretty awesome.” He acknowledges that not all new autonomous and alternative-energy technology will come to fruition in his career, but “It would be very naïve to believe that nothing big is going to change, so we want to be at the leading edge of technology instead of trying to catch up.”
Leading people into the future out of their comfort zone often requires discussion. “We have a lot of debates, but everybody respects one another and goes out of their way to help one another,” he says. “Our company has a simple culture. 1. You look after yourself first: take care of your mental, physical, and spiritual health, if faith is important to you. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. 2. Next, look after your family, and that can even be your parents and cousins. Keep your work and family life in balance. Don’t neglect family time; it’s important. 3. Look after each other at work. So, that’s our company culture. We’re an odd company because we have those values that are decided by our employees, and we actually believe they’re important.”
Boag also believes it’s very important to hire the right people. “First, they have to be a good person. Our team (in Lisbon) eats lunch every day on the deck, and some days we talk about work and other days it’s all about family – and some days we debate the color of orange juice.”
Life Balance
One subject that Boag does not debate is his need for recreation and relaxation. “I’ve been an executive most of my life and have learned the need to de-stress,” he says. For him, this can be as ordinary as lifting weights at the gym, building a new deck on his home, or tinkering on his old Porsche. When driving, he enjoys listening to podcasts, “especially ones that teach me something new.”
The subject that most uplifts him is
not accomplished hobbies or business successes, but family. He says his three children are his greatest success “without question,” but he immediately shares that credit with his wife and their mother, Veronique, whom he amusingly calls “The Viper.” When asked if she currently works outside the home, Boag chuckles, “She works full-time putting up with my sh-t. She tells me every day that’s a full-time job.” Then, more seriously he says, “Being an aviator can keep you away from your family, and having a wife who can understand and live with that is a really good thing. I was away for much of our children’s youth,
14 Sept/Oct 2024
flying and working; so most of the credit goes to Veronique. Some would say they grew up despite their father, and they’re now wonderful people who are very caring and respectful of others.” Two of the three are currently in the aviation industry: one son is a helicopter pilot and the other works in operations. Their sister has worked in the industry, and Boag suspects she might return to it. He muses, “Ten years ago, if you told me any of our kids would work in aviation, I’d have thought you mad — and yet it happened.” Then he concludes with an insight, not only on his children’s path, but on the path of many of us. “Life’s one stepping stone after another; where you start out isn’t necessarily the path you’ll follow.”
Once, a 10-year-old boy first found his footing on a stone at a South Australia air show. As he grew, he hopped from helipad to helipad all over the globe to land now in Portugal with a proud and supportive family, and with a rewarding helicopter career.
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