Where were you born? In Cleveland. I grew up with snow! My wife is Canadian and we now live in Boca Raton, Florida and I commute to Toronto.
How long have you been in the business? When I was 15 I remember taking public transit to the airport to look for jobs. Eventually I got a summer ticket delivery job for a travel agency. I worked for an airline in college and went to a corporate travel company and then American Express in New York. I’ve been with Thomas Cook Canada for almost 8 years including 5 years in a consulting role.
How many people work for you? Including our new retail division with Sears, over 600 folks in 131 offices, all very brand focused.
What’s the best part of the job? I get to wake up every day doing what I love.
What did you want to be as a kid? An airline CEO.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? (laughs) Other than being in the travel industry? Probably nothing. We are in the crisis management business.
Any guilty pleasures? Yes. I love being in an airplane, cut off from the world.
What’s your favourite airline? Thomas Cook Airlines – you’ve gotta fly the flag!
What do people not know about you? I’m a pretty open book and what they don’t know I’m not going to share with you!
Any hobbies or interests? One is travelling, and the other is being with my family and my kids who are aged 11, 9 and 2.
What was your worst holiday? Actually an attempted holiday to Europe, everyone in the family got pneumonia and we literally couldn’t get out of the house.
What will be the biggest challenge for the industry in the next 12 months? Overcapacity. Price stability.
Whom do you most respect in the industry? Gordon Bethune of Continental Airlines. He wrote a book called Worst for First. He proves that with the right management you can do anything.
What is it that the Thomas Cook Group does to retain staff? Every year we do a human capital index as measured by an outside firm. If you listen to your staff they’ll tell you what you’re doing right and doing wrong. And we get better every year.
If you could sit next to anyone on a long haul flight who would it be? Hmm. Somebody’s who’s a mute? (laughs). Oh, I know, Harvey Golub, former CEO of American Express.
What’s your worst habit? Impatience.
How much do you travel each year? I’ve never added it up because I wouldn’t want to share that with my wife. 40 weeks a year?
What’s your favourite destination? Bali. We went there on our honeymoon and it was fabulous.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years? Hopefully still at Thomas Cook and continuing to build the business.
