Q: What was your first ever job and what did you learn from it that you still use today?
A: My first job was in my family’s business. It taught me that values are crucial in uniting family, business and employees. This lesson about the importance of customer and supplier loyalty as foundations for sustainable growth has been invaluable, especially in times of crisis.
Q: What’s the first thing you do when you start a new position?
A: I actively ask questions, listen attentively and engage with my team. I always encourage them to ask questions if they’re uncertain. Most people appreciate this approach and it demonstrates my strong willingness to learn.
Q: What advice would you give someone wanting to start a career in travel now?
A: Learn as much as you can! Cultivating a beginner’s mindset is a critical part of career growth. Take advantage of on-the-job training to learn as much as you can.
Ask questions and get to know people across the organisation and throughout the industry. Try job shadowing someone to learn what their role is like.
Q: What did the pandemic teach you about yourself?
A: I grew in ways I never imagined. I came to understand myself, my career journey and the professional inside me.
I better understood how to set healthy boundaries and learn how to ask for support from family, friends, co-workers and career coaches who were a support system during the pandemic.
I now have a deeper appreciation for celebrating the “little things”. The pandemic put me in positions where I had to develop skills I had rarely used before, such as adaptability in working with government authorities around the world. I learned to make the best of the challenges presented and found new ways to connect and collaborate with people.
Q: Aisle or window seat and why?
A: Aisle – the freedom to move around!
Q: What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office?
A: I start by making a cup of coffee and filling my water bottle to ensure I can start working and stay focussed while taking this opportunity to have a morning chat with the team.
The first hour of the day is usually the most productive before I get pulled into meetings, calls, or other work. I always take a few moments to review my goals and intentions for the day.
Q: How does the travel industry look at this moment in time?
A: The tourism industry, inherently prone to risks, faces heightened uncertainty due to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and global financial downturns, which significantly impact global travel.
Strong customer relationships are essential for business success, especially during these challenging times. These relationships are a crucial link between your brand and your customers.
In periods of crisis and economic instability, it’s vital to build and maintain these connections. With the difficulty of attracting new customers, the focus shifts to retaining existing ones.
As the travel industry recovers, customer expectations have risen, underscoring the need for brands to intensify efforts in cultivating customer loyalty as well as being attuned to the desires of new-to-brand and prospective customers.
Q: Who would you most like to sit next to on a plane, living or dead?
A: I spent more than a decade working with Virgin Atlantic, based both in Australia and in the UK. During this period, I was very fortunate to spend time with Sir Richard Branson.
I would love to now sit next to him on a plane and revisit our conversations and predictions of the travel industry more than 10 years ago and how our predictions turned out and have changed.
Tuscany
Q: Where are some of your favourite spots around the world?
A: Sainte-Maxime is often referred to as the little sister of Saint Tropez. Sainte-Maxime will seduce you with its turquoise waters, endless beaches, a provisional soul with its olive oil and wine producers, its typically small local restaurants or its paved alleys with locally produce stores.
You will always end up immersing yourself as a local, as I found myself each afternoon meeting for vinos with the locals walking their dogs.
Barbados is very special because each place has a story, every meal is a celebration and each day brings a new experience. This is also my favourite place to scuba dive – an underwater paradise.
Tuscany. A “must do” is hiring a car and exploring the rolling hills and vineyards while staying in family-owned and run B&Bs. Not to mention exploring the beautiful medieval towns.
Q: What is your best travel story?
A: I was flying back across the Atlantic to London when Suzi Quatro boarded my flight. Much to our excitement, we spent most of the flight sitting at the upper-class onboard bar while she smashed out several of her hits!
Q: What are you most looking forward to about working with Silversea?
A: Each year, Silversea crafts new itineraries for its voyages that are designed to surprise and delight.
I look forward to collaborating with my team to ignite people’s passion for exploring the world, discovering new destinations or revisiting those from a new perspective.
silversea.com
