A highly committed, self motivated person with excellent communication skills and many years experience of leading an entrepreneurial travel company achieving above average profit margins in a fast moving, customer focused industry.
Key Skills
• Vision: Clear, practical and level headed thinker who has developed a range of strategies and business plans to address both core and niche markets.
• Leadership: Many years experience of working with a diverse group of people and moulding them into a team with a common purpose. Experienced at Chairing meeting of both staff and advisors and managing conflicts of Interest between different groups
• Communication: Well developed interpersonal skills. Used to dealing with day to day and strategic communication with people at all levels, preparing and delivering presentations to large groups and handling one on one meetings and negotiations and tailoring style accordingly (staff groups, industry regulators, banks, suppliers, advisors etc).
• Commercial focus: An experienced negotiator who has demonstrated the ability to balance service delivery, cost control and margin improvement.
• Initiative and innovation: Responsible for many key developments and the research, planning and execution of products and projects.
• Marketing: Excellent understanding of practical, commercial marketing skills.
• Operational delivery: Hands on experience of ensuring that suppliers meet requirements of customers and the business. Excellent eye for detail whilst retaining a focus on the bigger picture.
• Crisis management and problem solving: Practical, hands on experience of dealing with a number of major issues and incidents (e.g. SARS, Norovirus, terrorist attacks). Very adaptable and able to take on a number of roles from dealing with in house logistics to communication with the media and stakeholders.
• IT Literacy: Very comfortable with Microsoft programmes.
• Languages: Good German and French (was fluent but now a little rusty!)
Main Achievements
• Helping to create an exceptional working culture that was innovative, and dynamic whilst being friendly, open and supportive
• Grew Company from turnover of 90m and net profit of 8m in 2000 to turnover of 175m with net profits in excess of 14m in 2006
• Increased shareholder value between 2000 and 2006 by 65%
• Led two acquisition and two sale processes
• Successfully integrated acquisitions making savings of 40% on overheads
• Increased customer satisfaction and retention levels by over 10% to 75% through targeted process of product and communication improvement
• Developed and launched a new brand for single travellers in 2000, now the market leader (Just You)
• Developed other new holiday concepts including activity holidays, rail tours and special events (eclipse tours, festivals, sporting events)
• Introduced new distribution channels including web (first operator in our sector to have a transactional site), affiliates, partnerships and advocates
• Improved funding position of Company Pension Scheme from 60% to 91% (assets of 11m) and improved overall administration of scheme
