Experience

Wheels For All

• United Kingdom
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Cycling Projects - Charity Coordinator

  • Nov 2019 - Present



Wild Frontiers Adventure Travel

• United Kingdom
• Travel Arrangements
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Operating Officer

  • Dec 2017 - Oct 2019

  - Responsibility for the operation and efficiency of the company in the UK, US and Cambodia- Developed strategic plans to enhance the overall performance of the company, working with the senior leadership team to deliver initiatives - Held responsibility for financial planning, reporting and budgeting- Managed business suppliers, negotiating costs and agreeing contracts - Wrote the company travel technology road map to include a new booking and reservation system, client portal, eMarketing Automation Tool and Travel App- Project managed a new information technology platform in conjunction with our IT supplier. This included integrating the US and Cambodia office onto the same systems- Restructured the whole company, that included consolidating two separate sales teams into one department and introduced a new client support team to work with the sales team - Wrote company policies such as employee charter, company values and employee guidelines, ensuring the team follow company policies and procedures- Held responsibility for legal aspects of the business like GDPR, PTR, and Public Liability- Liaised with company appointed Lawyer and HR Consultant for all staff issues and legal matters- Encouraged and monitored the senior leadership team to hold team member reviews during probationary periods and annual assessments for all their team

• Sales Director

  • May 2015 - Dec 2017

  - Responsible for company revenue targets of £12 million in 2017. - Increased the tailor-made turnover by 21% in 2017 and exceeded company sales targets - Developed strategies and tactics to increase company turnover and profit by 15% YOY - Wrote the company sales manual and strategy, to include reporting analysis, sales pipeline, - Oversaw EGT Pricing, Capacity and Yield Management in line with company KPIs - Coordinated sales plans with marketing activities, through regular meetings with the marketing team - Analysed sales stats around locations and profitability to inform strategic decision making and adapt initiatives for profitable sales - Set group and individual sales targets, department KPIs with continual monitoring and reporting to achieve company sales targets - Reviewed performance and data to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the head of sales and travel consultants

• Head of Tailor Made Tours

  • Jan 2010 - Apr 2015

  - Managed the day-to-day operation of the sales department and enquiry flow - Management of 10 travel consultants, the agency sales manager and sales support staff- Initiated daily sales briefing and bi-weekly department meeting- Motivated the sales team to achieve weekly, monthly and annual sales targets- Measured and monitored performance of the department including sales conversions andsales coaching to help them convert enquires into bookings, and pursue client leads- Maximized the profit margin of bookings in line with the KPIs pre and post booking - Monitored response times through KPIs and constantly challenging processes and structure to improve client satisfaction, retention and conversion rates- Recruitment of new travel consultants and sales support staff- Retained responsibility for all new starter sales training- Allocated team fam trips within budget and monitoring work



Silk Road and Beyond

• Kensington High Street, London

• Director/Owner

  • Oct 2002 - Dec 2009

  - Set-up a small specialist tour operator from minimal investment with a business partner - Responsible for the company vision, growth and day-to-day operation and other aspects - Budget planning and forecasting, managing cash flow and company expenditure - Developed the product from five countries to twenty-six specialist destination for our market audience - Created the company website with a third-party website developer and launched an online client portal and booking area - Quoted clients with detailed tailor-made proposals and converted enquires into bookings - Recruited key team members as the business grew and trained the sales and administration team



Kumuka Worldwide

• United Kingdom
• Travel Arrangements
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Asia Product Manager

  • Feb 2001 - Sep 2002

  - Wrote the company Asia brochure and expanded the product into the Far East. Introduced a private tour concept for our clients and launched the brochure to market - Developed the Middle East and Asia overland and private tour product - Costed group and private tours and negotiated rates with suppliers, constantly reviewing product profitability and quality of the trips. - Managed the ground operations for ME and Asia, booking group tour allocations through DMC’s, and selecting tour leaders to lead trips. - Oversaw and managed the Safety & Quality Control, Risk Assessment systems and Crisis Management



Explore Worldwide

• United Kingdom
• Travel Arrangements
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Tour Leader and Sales Consultant

  • Jul 1997 - Dec 2000

  I worked as a Tour Leader in Egypt, Greece, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Turkey and Oman for Explore. I also trained new tour leaders on my tours when I was leading them. After nearly five years on the road, I worked in Explore's reservations department and presented their travel slide shows around the UK. - Co-ordinated and lead numerous tours throughout Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe - Selected to run the most difficult logistical tour run by Explore! Travelled through five Central Asian countries in 22 days - Responsible for tour budgets and accounting for trip expenditure - Trained new tour leaders in the office and oversees - Promoted Explore Worldwide, through client slide shows and consumer exhibitions - Trained travel agents and implemented incentives