Topless at the top: AirAsia CEO deletes LinkedIn massage post

A Tony Fernandes LinkedIn post, in which he receives a topless massage in a conference room, has been deleted. For obvious reasons, it drew criticism from the business world.

In it, Fernandes praised the suggestion of AirAsia Indonesia CEO Veranita Yosephine: “Was a stressful week and Veranita Yosephine suggested a massage.”

The post also suggests this happened mid-meeting, though it’s unclear if it was a video chat or there were others in the room with Fernandes. “Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I can have a massage and do a management meeting.”

It’s the latest viral CEO moment in a year that included the MillerKnoll CEO’s ‘Pity City’ rant, the Clearlink CEO’s pep talk praising a staffer who sold the family dog to return to the office and taking pot shots at working mothers and, more recently and closer to home, property developer Tim Gurner’s statements at a business event that called for more “pain in the economy” and higher unemployment to boost productivity and “remind people they work for the employer, not the other way around”, which drew criticism the world over.

MillerKnoll’s Andi Owen, Clearlink’s James Clarke and Tim Gurner did keep their shirts on, though.

Owen later apologised for comments she “hoped would energise the team” that “landed in a way [she] did not intend.” Gurner, too, expressed regret for his “deeply insensitive” comments.

Last year, ‘crying CEO’ Braden Wallake, of HyperSocial, kicked off the trend, drawing criticism for his candid post announcing layoffs, in which many said he “made it about himself.”

Malaysian entrepreneur Fernandes purchased AirAsia in 2001 and turned it into one of the most successful budget airlines in Asia. He stepped down as the Group CEO of the airline’s long-haul unit AirAsia X in November to focus on Capital A, a rebrand of the AirAsia Group announced in January 2022, Business Insider reports.