ISB Alumna Isha Goyal on Legacy, Leadership & Reinventing a Travel Business | Impact Chronicles

Why It Matters

Goyal’s story shows how MBA‑trained leaders can revitalize legacy family businesses, driving diversification and resilience while highlighting the unique challenges women face in such roles.

Key Takeaways

• Isha modernized Stick Travel, expanding beyond airlines to cruises.
• She became CEO in March 2021 amid COVID disruption.
• Family legacy required balancing freedom and responsibility in leadership.
• Women CEOs in family firms face heightened visibility and scrutiny.
• ISB experience shaped her strategic thinking and extensive network.

Summary

The Impact Chronicles interview spotlights ISB alumna Isha Goyal, who now leads Stick Travel Group—a family‑owned travel firm that began as a student‑travel information centre in 1973. After completing the PGP at ISB, she rejoined the business, rotating through operations, partnerships and strategy before taking the helm as CEO in March 2021, a period marked by the pandemic’s unprecedented shock to the travel sector.

Goyal describes how she has transformed the legacy operation into a diversified, future‑ready platform. Under her guidance, Stick Travel expanded its portfolio from airline representation to include 13 airline GSAs, eight cruise brands, three car‑rental partners, and new lines such as experiential travel, MICE and data‑driven services. The pandemic prompted a shift from mere recovery to reinvention, embodied in the internal motto “together towards tomorrow,” which emphasized employee cohesion and agile decision‑making.

Memorable moments from the conversation include the origin story of the company’s name, the early partnership with Air Salon, and Goyal’s self‑identification as a “caretaker of this legacy.” She also highlights the extra pressure she feels as a woman leader in a patriarchal family business, noting the need to be more visible and hands‑on than her male counterparts. The interview underscores the lasting influence of ISB’s network and learning environment on her strategic outlook.

The discussion illustrates how a next‑generation leader can leverage an MBA education to modernize a traditional family enterprise, diversify revenue streams, and navigate crisis. It also signals broader industry trends: travel firms must adopt technology, broaden offerings, and foster inclusive leadership to stay competitive in a post‑COVID world.

Original Description

In this special Women’s Day episode of Impact Chronicles, we feature Isha Goyal (PGP Class of 2004), CEO of STIC Travel Group.

Isha shares her journey from discovering ISB as a young student to eventually leading her family’s travel enterprise through one of the most challenging periods for the global travel industry during COVID-19.

In conversation with D N V Kumara Guru, Senior Director – Alumni Engagement at the Indian School of Business, she reflects on leadership, legacy, resilience, and the experience of being a woman leading a family business.

Chapters

0:00 From ISB to CEO: Meet Isha Goyal

1:41 The Story Behind STIC Travel Group

3:27 Joining the Family Business After ISB

8:07 Discovering ISB & Early Campus Memories

12:58 Taking Over as CEO During COVID

16:36 Leadership, ISB Memories & Advice for Young Professionals

23:45 Rapid Fire Round