Exit interview: Rudy Khaw bids farewell to AirAsia after 18 years

Rudy Khaw (pictured), CEO of AirAsia brand co. (Abc), is officially stepping down today (10 October) after an 18-year journey with AirAsia. Having risen through the ranks from brand executive to CEO, Khaw leaves behind a legacy defined by creativity, collaboration and an unwavering belief in the power of people, culture and passion.

Reflecting on his decision, Khaw said it was one made with gratitude and careful thought. “After 18 years with the brand, I’m really proud of what I’ve managed to achieve, especially so with the support of great teams, mentors, peers and all the Allstars I’ve worked with,” he said.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but it felt like the timing was right for me.

"With the brand in a good place and a new course set from a brand and creative direction in recent years ready to evolve into whatever comes next for Abc.”

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On a personal note, Khaw said his departure marks a moment to “reignite creative passions, curiosity and discovery” outside the bounds of day-to-day deliverables. “It’s time to explore freely, create unattached, and develop intentionally or even accidentally,” he said.

From fresh grad to CEO 

Looking back on nearly two decades at AirAsia, Khaw summed up his experience with one word – amazing. “Who would've thought that a fresh grad kid who literally had no idea what he wanted to do after graduating from university would be able to work his way up from a brand executive to eventually the CEO of a brand company?” he said. “Over 18 years, I've connected with people from so many different cultures, been to countries I never thought I'd visit, and worked with partners from sports, music, entertainment, fashion. It's given me such a wealth of experience that I'll forever be grateful for."

Khaw first joined AirAsia in 2007 as a brand executive, and gradually moved up the ranks to be regional head of branding, then chief brand officer for the airlines. In 2023, AirAsia brand co. was launched, and Khaw was appointed CEO to drive the brand's growth in ASEAN and beyond. 

Among his proudest milestones, Khaw highlighted the introduction of "People, places and passion", a framework that shaped much of AirAsia’s brand and creative work in recent years. “With the 3Ps in place, it allowed for a lot of our projects and initiatives to be crafted with deeper meaning in a way that wasn’t astray from where the AirAsia brand originally set off, with a focus on people, accessibility, democratising travel, dreams and connectivity,” he said.

That thinking guided some of AirAsia’s most memorable initiatives, from Taylor Swift’s Red Hot Tour in 2014 to collaborations with 88Rising in 2018, which produced videos for NIKI, Higher Brothers x Phum Vhipurit, and Joji. Khaw also recalled AirAsia’s backing of Malaysian Moto3 racer Zulfahmi Khairuddin, creative collaborations with artist Ta-ku, and the creation of AirAsia Buds, an animated series aimed at building brand affinity among younger audiences.

As he looks ahead, Khaw said he remains a lifelong learner and believer in the power of shared knowledge. “Doing branding in AirAsia allowed me to learn a little bit of everything across the company because branding touches everything,” he said.

Knowledge should be shared to progress, so don’t gatekeep, as it won't serve anyone positively.

He added that ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time. “Having an idea said out loud is a lot more powerful than having it kept in your head or not having it heard,” he said. “It’s more wasted unheard or untold than it is laid out but unused.”

What's next for Khaw?

While Khaw has no immediate plans, he said he intends to take time to “flow with life.” “Nobody believes me when I say nothing immediate,” he laughed. “Of course I’ve put down some ideas and see where that can take me. My next move will still connect to who I am. Curious, creatively driven, pop-culture inspired and intentional. I may even start my own thing that’s categorically Rudy or do some consultancy... who knows?”

As for what’s next in branding and content marketing, Khaw believes the focus will continue to shift toward genuine passion and cultural connection. “There was ‘personalised,’ then ‘tribe,’ then ‘authenticity,’ and now ‘community’. But really, it’s all the same thinking,” he said. “That’s why I believe so much in ‘People, places, passion'."

Understanding cultures and subcultures is so important. You can’t buy that, and it’s not data that drives it either. It’s a human being’s pure interest that shapes how these things grow and evolve.

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