Other Skills and Experience
Consumer-facing Strategic Development
Marketing & branding strategy creation
- “oneworld” alliance – member of the world-wide airline team that created the branding, marketing plan & customer experience
- Saudi Arabian airline license applicant – Goldman Sachs & McKinsey
- Alitalia bid – Morgan Stanley
- Global Tax Refund bid – Macquarie Bank
- Australian low-cost airline start-up
Brand, product, media, distribution channel and sponsorship launches
- Worldwide brand, product & sponsorship launches for Qantas & Air New Zealand. eg. Koru Club (airline lounge club & Frequent Flyer Programme), Qantas Telstra Visa Card
- Low-cost Trans Tasman airline Freedom Air
- Qantas relaunch of First & Business Classes, Frequent Flier program, lounges & inflight service
- Joint campaigns with Tourism Boards and tourism & hospitality industry partners in the UK, USA, Europe, ME, Asia, Japan, Australia & NZ.
- Award winning worldwide advertising and key market multi-channel media campaigns in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Japan, Australasia, North & South America and Canada.
- Qantas-Telstra Visa Card – largest credit card in Australia
International
Board level multi-cultural & multi-lingual environments:
- Non-Executive: Holidaybreak Plc – UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland & Austria
- Advisor: Saudi Brothers CC – Saudi Arabia
- Executive experience in UK, Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East & Africa
- Private equity projects in Europe and Middle East
Web and IT
- Online retailing – responsible for yield and sales mix for Qantas’ European online offering.
- Responsible for the marketing and branding of the Qantas Telstra Visa Card, Australia’s most successful co-branded credit card incorporating two loyalty programmes.
Governance
- Experienced with Combined Code and Turnbull regimes as a non-executive director of Holidaybreak Plc (FTSE 300) and Qantas Holidays Plc.
- As Chair of the Board Remuneration Committee of Holidaybreak Plc, oversaw the design and implementation of LTIP, short-term incentive plans, executive contracts and succession planning.
- Audit committee member for a business with operations in multiple countries and currencies.
- As Chair of a pension fund with £8m under management, was responsible for fiduciary oversight
Restructuring & Turn-around
Turn-around plan development – multi-sector experience including:
- Transport: Alitalia bid – Morgan Stanley & Private Equity consortium
- IT: Implementation of 2 call-centre & airport operating systems
- Financial services: Global Refund Holdings bid – Macquarie Private Equity
- Startup: Saudi Arabian airline bid – Goldman Sachs & McKinsey
- Take-over: New ownership / business structure for 4 regional airlines
- M&A: UK “Class 1” &
- M&A in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria & Switzerland
Execution of corporate restructuring
- Restructure & return to profitability – Qantas UK, Middle-East & Ireland Region
- Profitability based restructure of Italian airline sales, distribution & alliances
- Return to profitability of Air NZ National (Domestic Airline), following rebranding & relaunch
- Call centre rationalisation – Qantas UK & Ireland
- Business unit cost reduction – Qantas & Air NZ.
- As a General Manager at Qantas, was heavily involved in staff downsizing & cultural change.
eg. a -12% reduction program (-3,500 staff) over 4 years.
Audit & Finance
- Audit Committee member of Holiday Break Plc. (FTSE 300).
- Experienced in “continuous disclosure” regimes at Qantas Airways and Air NZ.
Risk Management
- As an airline executive, extensive experience with processes and policies to manage and react to operational risks and “first hand” experience in genuine disaster situations (crashes & deaths).
- As an airline and travel company director, comprehensive involvement in disaster response planning, including the coordination of actions across multi-lingual and multi-national regions.