The Life of a CEO
- What drives the CEO of a travel management company?
- How can you have a successful career in business travel?
- What might the future of the travel industry look like?
Our CEO Suzanne Horner recently chatted to Paul Richer on the ‘Parlez with Paul’ webinar series from the Travel Technology Initiative (TTI). The candid interview took viewers on a journey through Suzanne’s remarkable career, focusing on her rise through the travel industry ranks and the philosophies for success she defined along the way.
Suzanne spoke openly about her formative roles in travel at Airtours and British Airways and how, in 2011, she joined Gray Dawes with the promise of generating a turnover of £100m in five years. It was a bold statement, but not without conviction. After just four years, Gray Dawes’ turnover increased from £28m to hit the £100m target.
But her ambition didn’t stop there. As a self-confessed straight-talking businesswoman who likes to set tough goals and achieve them, Suzanne has steered Gray Dawes to an annual turnover of £250m and overseen the development of a new, global strategy which focuses on offering a service that ‘follows the sun’.
Watch Now
Watch the interview to hear Suzanne’s advice for aspiring leaders, her take on the future of AI-driven travel technology, and her insights into company growth after acquiring offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Miami.
TRAVEL TALKS
If you like webinars, then be sure to check out Travel Talks. It’s our very own webinar series in which we discuss all the latest business travel trends and topics.
Each episode offers insight, how-to’s and top tips on subjects such as building traveller confidence, implementing a sustainable travel policy, creating successful corporate travel programmes and more! It’s even available as podcast to listen to on the move.
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