Jitender Bhargava, then with Indian Airlines, once quizzed the chef of a Chennai-based five-star hotel that supplied food to the airlines, “Suppose the king of some country is flying with Indian Airlines, what would you do?” The chef replied that he would read up on the king and his food habits and prepare a delicious meal he would never forget.
“Well said! Every passenger is a king for me. So cook the best food for him,” said Bhargava and, after that, no complaints were heard regarding the Chennai food supplier. The incident is a prime example of Bhargava’s method of dealing with people. Unlike a corporate communication man, he refrains from making promises. He narrates his organization’s pluses and minuses in a very simple yet convincing style. His communication skills have earned him the Communicator of the Decade Award from the Governor of Maharashtra, SC Jamir.
Bhargava is Executive Director, Corporate Communications, of Air-India, which now includes the former Indian Airlines. As the public face of Air-India, both in the print and in the electronic media, Bhargava has been putting across Air-India’s point of view eloquently and emphatically. His communicative skills come to the fore when there are issues to be projected or defended. When Air-India wanted to withdraw ads as a cost-cutting measure, Bhargava used logic, data and transparency to convince the media representatives.
He joined Air-India in 1989 after having been head of corporate communications at Coal India, Kolkata for 12 years. Before that, he had worked with private sector companies – Goodyear India Ltd and Crompton Greaves – after starting his career as a journalist with the Hindustan Times in New Delhi. He is also co-Chairman of the Shipping & Aviation Committee of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber.
