SEA AND BE HEARD: From far left: Daniel Levine, Julia Lo Bue- Said, Stephen D’Alfonso and Joanna Kolatsis and Chris Hadfield will be among speakers at Advantage’s four-day conference on board an MSC Fantasia sailing roundtrip from Genoa
activity’
the sector, issues that delegates will then be able to discuss further during breakout sessions. “The world is changing and we
can’t keep doing the same thing, and nor can our members,” he said. “We need to better serve the needs of customers and buyers and we can’t have blinkers on and assume that what you’re doing is what customers want you to do.” Lo Bue- Said added: “We need to make sure our organisation is always relevant and that we can provide solutions for our members to help against some of these changes.” The pair agreed the most important thing about the conference was that members felt “fired up and excited” and left feeling “inspired, motivated and excited to try new things”. “We also like to see members
realising they might not have maximised their Advantage membership as much as they could have,” O’Neill added. “We have a good level of engagement but we want our members to use everything we put out for them and see the value in the membership.” Other sessions at the conference
will focus on marketing, with particular emphasis on vlogging.
Advantage seeks to fill new commercial director role as Ken McLeod steps down
The senior leadership at Advantage is being restructured following Ken McLeod’s decision to step down from the board. McLeod has served as
corporate director on the Advantage board since July 2004, with responsibility for airline relationships and business travel. While he will remain with
Advantage on a consultancy basis, McLeod’s departure has led managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said to restructure the senior leadership team. She said: “What I haven’t done in my capacity as managing director over the past two and a half years is restructure the top director team. There are changes here, the main one being that my dear friend and colleague Ken is stepping down at
the end of the summer. “He will be staying on to
consult on key initiatives and external relationships, but it has enabled us to look at the skills and talent we need to support our diverse membership.” Advantage is looking to
recruit a commercial director, who will pick up many of McLeod’s responsibility. Lo Bue-Said said the new recruit would have to have expertise in business travel. Advantage has also appointed Nick Moser as financial director. Moser previously worked at
Amadeus and Voyages-sncf. “We are
investing in our talent and in our team,” Lo Bue-Said added. “Nick’s
Ken McLeod: staying on in consultancy role
appointment shows we want to invest further in talent for the business.”
HOPES FOR CONFERENCE
“First and foremost I am looking forward to meeting up with industry colleagues. I gain so much
from talking to as many Advantage members and Advantage preferred suppliers at the conference as possible, be it in the bar or at the speed-dating event.” Nick Marks, Baldwins Travel, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
“I am really looking forward to the conference and to sample the delights of MSC Fantasia.
The conference programme looks great. I always find the speed-dating very useful and the keynote speaker looks interesting. I am looking to coming away with a few ideas that I can implement in my business and help us continue to grow.” Shevaun Joy, Destination, Silsden, West Yorkshire
“I always find the conference motivational and inspirational and come away full of ideas. I look forward
to meeting suppliers, hearing about new products and learning how we can build stronger relationships with our business partners. I enjoy listening to colleagues and hearing ideas on how we can adapt and thrive in our ever-changing industry.” Sharon May, Worldwide Travel Solutions, Chapel Allerton, Leeds
14 April 2016
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