Cargojet founder Ajay Virmani on ‘starting an airline just after 9/11’

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Many immigrants to Canada take the route of founding a private company, an important driver of the country’s economy, and in this series we take a look at some of their businesses.

“Starting an airline just after 9/11 was not necessarily seen as the smartest move by business leaders in Canada,” says Ajay Virmani, founder and executive chairman of Mississauga, Ont.-based Cargojet Inc., a multi-billion-dollar overnight air freight company.

Virmani immigrated to Canada when he was 18 and, like many immigrant success stories, his determination and drive grew from a modest start, “knocking on each factory [door] for a job.”

One of his first jobs in Canada was washing windows and he found other work before landing a job at Mississauga, Ont.-based shipper Cottrell Transport Inc. He earned an MBA from City University of New York while working his way up at Cottrell, eventually becoming a senior vice-president at the company.

From there he founded two companies, eventually acquiring Cottrell and then founding Cargojet Inc. in 2002 out of the bankruptcy of Canada 3000 Cargo Inc.

He invested in the former Canada 3000 airline in 2001, just months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which ground airline movement to a halt.

Since its inception, Cargojet has won numerous awards, including Canada’s 50 Best Managed companies, and has twice been in the Top 10 of the Toronto Stock Exchange’s TSX30 of the 30 top-performing stocks. The company had a market cap of about $2 billion at publication time.

Virmani, who has an MBA, and his family are also passionate philanthropists through their Virmani Family Foundation and the Cargojet Foundation, with a particular focus on healthcare and the arts.

In 2022, Virmani was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, which recognized his generous contributions to the country’s philanthropic landscape. Among these are Cargojet Foundation’s recent commitment of $2.5 million to health-care initiatives and social justice causes, and the family’s support of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, the Trillium Health Partners and the University Health Network.

What are your memories of arriving in Canada?

“I arrived in November, 1975, and the leaves were starting to fall from the trees.

But I grew up in a warm country and my early memories are about the first winter. I was completely unprepared for the wintery weather. Like many immigrants, I was admiring the wonders of nature with the beauty of the first snowfall, but that feeling disappeared pretty fast as I realized I had no winter coat, no gloves and no hat and no money to buy either of these.

My biggest memory was walking and knocking on each factory [door] for a job.”

Who was your support system during those early years, as you adjusted to your new home?

“I was sponsored by my sister but she was also a newcomer who helped me as best as she could. I stayed with her for a few weeks and then shared a small apartment with a few friends. Back then, the Indian community was very small so for me, my wife, Monica, was the ultimate support when I got married.

Then in my early days, when I was working at Cottrell Transport, my immediate manager took me under his wing and helped me understand Canadian culture and Canadian ways of doing things. In fact, as I look back, those were remarkable building blocks to my journey in Canada.”

When did you first feel your entrepreneurial spirit spark?

“The entrepreneurial spirit was always there, but when you arrive in a new country you have to do whatever to put food on the table. Even when I was working for the transport company, I looked at everything as an owner and constantly harassed my bosses on why they couldn’t do things differently to drive revenue or cut costs.

I was frustrated and even warned the top brass that if they keep doing things the same way, business would not be sustainable. In the end, the company went bankrupt and I knew how to fix the business and bought it by adding another mortgage on my home. That’s how I got started.”

What led you to found Cargojet?

“By the time I founded Cargojet, I had already built two successful businesses and sold them. I was starting to trust my instincts and knew that the Canadian market was underserved on air-cargo.

I knew that, given the geography and the cargo flows, each courier company could not build their own air network at an affordable cost. But if everyone shared in a common carrier, they could build a much better next-day air product with substantially lower costs.

So I embarked on the mission impossible to convince every courier company in Canada to let Cargojet be their middle-mile carrier and who knew that 20 years later we will become a $1-billion-dollar market leader in the air cargo business in Canada.”

Were there any challenging moments during the early establishment of your company?

“Well, starting an airline just after 9/11 was not necessarily seen as the smartest move by business leaders in Canada, let alone the grand vision to convince fierce competitors to share their middle-mile air cargo flying.

[At the time], the track record of Canadian cargo airlines was bad. There were 14 cargo airlines that did not survive in Canada. So, right from the start, the odds were against me to succeed. But I had this unwavering conviction that if I can prove it to one courier, I will be able to win others.”

What inspired you to establish the Virmani Family Foundation and the Cargojet Foundation?

“I have been very lucky to have reached a stage in life where I can give back to the country and the society that … allowed me the opportunity to succeed, in a meaningful way.

Canada has a unique tradition of giving back that separates us from many other countries. I have seen the poorest of the poor giving back when asked to help a cause they care about.”

Why are your health-care and performing-arts initiatives so important to you?

“For me and my family, healthcare and arts are important.

In a public-health system, the resources are always going to be constrained. If we can lend a helping hand, hopefully we can make a difference in a few peoples’ lives. I am on the board of UHN [University Health Network in Toronto], where I see first-hand how badly our system is backed up and broken. It needs every dollar to help the parole who are waiting six to 12 months for simple care.

And the arts are a crucial foundation for any society that wants to live a richer life. Be it music, movies, theatre or performing arts, these are critical to a healthy and happy society. Imagine a world where there is no laughter, no movies and no music. In fact, it’s unimaginable. We come from the land of Ragas [in the classical Indian music tradition], Vedas [ancient sacred, literary and philosophical works] and Yoga. So, it’s natural for us to look for ways to preserve art and culture, no matter which part of the world we live in.”

What is on the horizon for yourself and for Cargojet?

“There is lots on the go but the most exciting thing is my new role as Executive Chairman of Cargojet. I am passing the baton to two highly talented executives to step into the role of co-CEOs and will be focusing on strategy and innovation and talent development so the next generation of leaders can learn to succeed against all odds.

On the innovation front, I will be focusing on some global issues, including development of sustainable fuel, future of e-commerce and public policy on smaller city airport infrastructure.

I will continue to do my work with UHN, both as a board member as well as a chair of reconstructive and plastic surgery – the honorary role I just took on.”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

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