In Person
It’s a family affair
Relocation from Zurich to head gategroup’s Asia Pacific operation was very much a family affair for Mike Pooley. Jo Austin catches up with him in Singapore
significance in the region as one where we really want to develop our footprint. We are present here through five long-established
OBH: What does your new job involve and what are your responsibilities? MP: I am president of gategroup’s Asia-Pacific Region with ‘landlord’ accountability for the group’s brands as well as entities spanning Japan to Australia. The Singapore office is home to the regional offices of Gate Gourmet, deSter and POTM and head office for the Harmony brand. The region is currently accounting for 10-15 per cent of the overall revenues of gategroup through its deSter, Harmony and Gate Gourmet brands and I regularly travel across the region to oversee our expanding portfolio of business. I report directly to Guy Dubois, ceo of gategroup, based in Zurich.
Who are your main customers in the region? The three brands enjoy significant business with regional customers such as Thai, Singapore, Korean, Hong Kong Airlines and Australian-based Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Tiger, serviced by gategroup’s Inflight Logistics (ILS) .
How important is the APAC region for gategoup? The region is largely enjoying a positive and timely rebound from the impact of global recession. Guy Dubois presides over quarterly operating boards in the APAC region to determine our progress, performance and forward strategies. He places huge
Above: The Pooley family Right: Mike and his team, from left: Jonathan James, regional director, Asia Pacific, deSter; Filip Fransen and Richard Wake, potmstudios; Mona Yowm Gate Gourmet, Gio Chan potmstudios
www.onboardhospitality.com 41
Gate Gourmet kitchens in Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Manila (a local joint venture) generating well over 30,000 meals daily and exciting new opportunities which have been realised in the last 12 months in Tokyo, both at the Narita Airport, Japan, through acquiring a bigger kitchen now serving 11/12,000 meals daily including 11 United Airlines flights plus other international customers such as Swiss International Air Lines, Continental Airlines, Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines, and now looking forward to opening in Japan at Haneda in October 2010.
Pourshins/Supplair is very active in the region
and about to open a Japanese-based operation in Tokyo. Pourshins already runs the asset management requirements out of Sydney for Qantas which is also a regional based client of the e-gate solutions suite of software options. e-gate also provides point of sale equipment and system support for Australian retail onboard customers.
How are you and the family settling down after over a year here in Singapore? We are happily settled here after several years in
What are your favorite spots in Singapore? Singapore is a great place to eat out with the best of culinary experiences from the local hawker stands for seafood and local dish, laksa, to the international haunts of Chinatown, Little India, and one of our family favourites, Dempsey Village. My busy schedule means many hours of flying
and being away from Singapore and the family. I am lucky to have a great team behind me both at home and across the region and really appreciate my very hard working group of colleagues and employees.
Switzerland. It is very different from the beautiful (and oh, so much cooler) mountain and lakeside scenes of Switzerland, but we are loving the steamy hustle and bustle of this dramatic, ever-changing Asian conurbation. Megan 15, and Elliot 13, are enjoying their first
experiences of English-language classrooms after many years of learning in Swiss German and High German. My eldest son Ben 18, has just completed a final school year in England and rejoined us here at the start of his gap year. Socially they have picked up their sports and music interests as before and Megan is now addicted to Singapore’s very own national sport – shopping. My wife, Deborah, has become a tennis freak!
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