June was a busy month for D Shivakumar, PepsiCo India’s Chairman and CEO. He travelled for 14 days, got in and out of 18 flights, and notched up 96 in-flight hours. “My last long flight was to the US; I landed at 3 am, was home by 3.45 am and at work by 8.30 am,” says the indefatigable Shivakumar.

Never mind the fact that we live in a hyper-connected world of smartphones, web connectivity and video conferencing; for today’s corporate chieftains, relentless travel is part of the job profile. Says Shivakumar: “All leaders need to be physically fit and mentally alert. It is difficult to get regular exercise when one is travelling 15 days a month. And, one has to choose one’s diet carefully.”

Harish Bhat, Member, group executive council, Tata Sons, agrees. “CEOs and senior managers have to virtually be corporate athletes in today’s crazily hectic world,” he says.

It also means being conscious about what one eats and drinks and hitting the gym wherever one is.

Not all fun

If you thought life was fun for CEOs on long flights, where they could probably settle in with some nice wine, enjoy gourmet meals and catch a good movie, think again. Flights are also about responding to mails and preparing for the meetings ahead.

Pepsi’s Shivakumar picks Emirates to fly to the US because its A380 aircraft has Net connectivity and allows him to clear all mail. “I also like listening to music on long flights while I finish work. It ensures that one can get into the workflow next morning in a seamless way,” he says. And, if he’s done with mail, perhaps a movie after.

Bhat, till recently MD of Tata Global Beverages, says he likes to write and read on flights. “Actually, a long flight is the perfect place to think and write, because there is no digital disturbance of any kind (well, not until now, he’s quick to add), and no visitors to meet,” he says.

Discipline is key

So, how do these hardy CEOs bounce back after a long flight? The trick, most CEOs say, is to be disciplined: eat light, drink lots of water and catch up on sleep.

SK Swamy, Chairman and MD of advertising agency RK Swamy BBDO, whose recent long flight was to Beijing, says: “I drink a lot of fluids while on flights. I eat 50 per cent of what is served, even desserts. And I only eat vegetarian, which is light on the stomach.”

For Venky Rajgopal, MD of apparel brand Indian Terrain, long flights are a time to read a good book or catch a movie. He was in New York and London last month and is now in Brazil. ““I drink moderately on flights, and eat even lighter though it’s tempting to let go with all the good spirits on offer,” he says.

Over the years, Britannia’s former MD Vinita Bali, who spent 150-180 days a year crisscrossing the globe in her earlier jobs in Coca-Cola and Cadbury’s, developed her own coping mechanism to deal with the fatigue. “I just don’t think about time zones and ease into the time zone of the country I have travelled to. If it’s night I go to sleep and if it’s morning I go for a walk or to the gym and get ready for meetings,” she says.

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