From Manufacturing to Aviation

Free spirited, self-driven and result oriented best describes George Oduor, our Environmental Manager. The third born in a family of 9 siblings, always aspired to be an accountant and a finance manager when he grew up. George was brought up in a church. A catholic nun took him for his nursery level and he was able to get sponsorship under the Christian Children Fund. This enabled him to access his basic needs, health and education. His father who was a mason used to encourage him to work hard in his studies and pursue a different career from him. He used to advise him to look up to his first cousin who was then a successful high school teacher. George went to school at Rangala Boys Primary School. He was a bright student who scored 506 out of 700 marks with his class achieving a mean grade of 464 marks out of 700 becoming number 4 in KCPE in the greater Siaya District. His father could not afford to pay for his school fees at Sawagongo High School where he got admission and they opted for a day school at Rangala Boys Secondary School where he performed well, later joining The Kisumu National Polytechnic where he acquired a Diploma in Analytical Chemistry. Chemistry.He worked for a while before enrolling for Bachelor of Technology Degree in Industrial Chemistry at Technical University of Kenya ( TUK) George acquired leadership skills from a very young age from the various positions he held from primary, secondary, college, church youth groups and later even at his workplace where he was the longest serving Board Chairman of the Sacco. Most of his colleagues, peers and childhood friends still call him Mr. Chairman. He started his professional career back in 2005 as a quality controller in a printing and packaging firm where he worked for 3 years. He later joined another printing and packaging firm as a Quality Controller in 2008. He worked hard, and in 2013 he was promoted to become the Deputy Quality Assurance Manager, a position he held for 2 years. Truly, hard work never goes unrewarded; George was promoted once again to become the SHEQ – Safety, Health, Environmental, Quality Assurance and Sustainability Manager in 2015, a role he held until 7th October 2022. He happily prides himself to being the longest serving Quality Manager at the firm for over 7 years. George was an ardent follower of 748 Air Services Social Media platforms, as he was advised by a friend that FLY 748 is an affordable airline should he need flights to Kisumu or Mombasa for business trips. One day as he was scrolling through Facebook he came across an Environmental Manager position vacancy at 748 Air Services that enticed him, as he met the qualifications. George says he felt like someone had written his job description. What really drew him to apply is the fact that 748 Air Services offers equal opportunity for everyone. He was shortlisted for an interview in which he excelled and got the job. George was very excited to join 748 Air Services and about his new role as the Environmental Manager whose main task includes the development and implementation of the Environmental Management System (EMS) in line with ISO 140001:2015 George says getting the opportunity to join 748 is a major highlight in his life as it offers him a new challenge. “748 Air Services is a pace setter and a very dynamic company that embraces diversity and has taken a bold step of playing a huge role in protecting the environment. Issues of environmental protection and conservation are not a nice to do but a must do. All of us in our small ways must be aware of environmental attributes that lead to carbon emission and environmental degradation and take action to mitigate. The action time is NOW, otherwise the whole human race, flora and fauna will face extinction in the next century, as mother earth will be unforgiving,” says George. George says he was humbled to attend the 14th Global Humanitarian Aviation Conference (GHAC) in Istanbul, Turkey on his first day of work. He appreciates the level of trust accorded to him by the Senior Management. He was honored to meet and interact with key global industry players in humanitarian aviation and discuss measures of combating carbon emission and protecting the environment. George describes the aviation industry as highly regulated and safety driven because there is no rework. “You always have to get it right, the first time”, he said. George defines himself as a leader and not a manager, who takes responsibility and accountability and runs with a project to its logical conclusion. He gets exhilarated when he has participated in his role to help the company achieve its overall objectives. He prides in mentoring many of his subordinates whom he developed to become good achievers in their spheres of work. In his leisure time, George enjoys reading current affairs and economic trends. He is a family man, with 4 beautiful children, 2 boys and 2 girls. His advice to the youth, “Believe in your skills and values and push through your passions.