GO (AN AIRLINE ADVENTURE)
Barbara Cassani set up the no-frills airline GO for British Airways. She was a rare breed. A female airline chief executive who believed in doing things differently. Her European low-cost operation was launched in May 1998 with £25 million backing and within three years she took it into profit. Riding high, she led a management buy-out from BA, supported by the venture capitalist outfit 3i. They paid £110 million for the airline. Yet, less than a year later the venture capital group - battered by a falling stock market - had a chance to cash in their chips. GO was sold to arch-rival easyJet for an astonishing £374 million.