What will you bring to the Focus MD role?

I’m here to create some stability for our partners, to grow the partnership and develop the services we provide – and ultimately cement our position as a business travel specialist. During my career I have worked in global relocation, technology and travel management. I’ve set up and run my own travel management company (TMC), I’ve worked for SME TMCs and I’ve run large-scale global TMC networks – I’ve even worked on the client side – so I come with a good understanding of what our partners want and need.

I want to use that experience to make a difference but it will be a steady evolution, not a revolution. The industry knows we have a unique and market-leading air fare programme, but there’s more to Focus than that, so I’ll also be promoting our extended capabilities.

How have you found it so far?

I’ve been busy! There are 49 TMC partners and at least as many airlines that we have agreements with, so I’ve never had a busier diary! I’ve been out to meet many of the partner owners, their commercial, operations and tech teams, and I’ve sat on our steering groups and in supplier meetings, soaking it all in.

I’ve also been getting to know the Focus team better. We’re run as a not-for-profit, so it’s a small but powerful team and I’ve been really impressed with the extent of our technical and commercial expertise – shown by the continued success of our team in industry awards.

What do you think are the key challenges and opportunities for your TMC members and how will Focus help?

Clearly NDC adoption is a key focus and we are here to support our partners with that. In fact, I’ve just been in a meeting with some of our TMCs and a major airline and it was seeking our opinion on its NDC strategy, which I think shows we’ve got a seat firmly at the table.

Recruitment is another challenge. Many of our TMC partners are recruiting but it’s important now to look outside of our industry, beyond just candidates with retail and customer service skills. We have explored this in our annual conferences and continue to champion business travel careers through a variety of initiatives.

We can find solutions to these challenges through knowledge sharing and our collective voice.

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