Wilson to AirIndia, De Schepper to TrustPilot, Peller leaves AWS, Agoda’s Morgenshtern on the rise – watch this space
I WAS never a big fan of Sheryl Sandberg so the news of her leaving Meta (formerly Facebook) leaves me somewhat cold. But her departure did put into stark relief the transition our own travel industry is going through as we pick ourselves up from the wreckage of the past two years.
Destinations are in transition (as I wrote about Thailand last week),with other places undergoing similar shifts. Bali has launched launched a green travel campaign called “KemBALI Becik” (as reported in this article in Travel Weekly Asia) and Singapore is going all out on sustainability, launching a White Paper on sustainable events at the IMEX trade show in Frankfurt this week, which indicates that 83% of organisations take sustainability into account when planning meetings and events.
Campbell Wilson: Taking on possibly the biggest bungee jump of his career.
Travel industry leaders too are in transition. Last week, I caught up with Campbell Wilson, who’s headed to Delhi to take on his new role as chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. After a 26-year career with Singapore Airlines Group, in which he founded Scoot in 2011, and then returned for a second stint as CEO in 2020, Wilson clearly felt it was time to move on to a bigger challenge – probably the biggest challenge of his career.
But then, at 50, Wilson probably felt it was time to expand his wings. He’s had a steady rise at Singapore Airlines – starting his career as a management trainee in 1996 – and then worked at various stations overseas before launching Scoot. It is his tenure at Scoot that defines him as an aviation leader to watch as well as a very active, leading role in the digital transformation of Singapore Airlines.
There’ve been lots of comments on social media about his move – some calling it crazy, some calling it bold, some linking it to post-pandemic trauma – but if you analyse it in depth, it would seem the stars are aligned for this much-talked-about career move of his life.
He’s done Scoot. He’s done digital transformation. He’s worked for an airline group that is among the best in the world and by the way, it has a joint venture with Tata Sons operating Vistara, a domestic and international full-service carrier. There are ongoing talks to merge Vistara with Air India.
For Singapore Airlines, it means having someone familiar with their culture in Air India and for Tata Sons, it means having someone familiar with Singapore Airlines and who has experience building a global network, either from an existing network or from scratch.
Covid, in a way, gives Wilson a blank slate on which to create a new Air India. Yes, there’s lots of legacy, old habits and cultures, that need addressing but if there’s anything that has shaken old thinking to its core, it’s the last two years.
Air India has nowhere to go but up, it needs a new path, Tata Sons’ reputation for building businesses is solid and the New Zealander Wilson is ready for the biggest bungee jump of his career – and you know what happens when you complete a jump, the most extraordinary rush in your life.
Sources close to WiT said this was not the first approach made by Tata to Wilson, but this was the one that came at the right time. And don’t we all agree that much of life is about timing.
As Wilson jets off to Delhi for his new adventure, we wish him well.
Mieke De Schepper: Headed home to Amsterdam and a career change.
Another key travel industry executive in transition is Mieke De Schepper, who’s left Amadeus where she was managing director Asia Pacific, to join Trust Pilot as chief commercial officer. De Schepper, who built her travel career in Asia, first with Expedia, then with Amadeus, has decided to return to her home of Amsterdam.
The past two years of being separated from family has clearly prompted the decision, as well as a desire to try something new. During the pandemic which shut down her region, she worked tirelessly to keep things and team together, and spoke out about the need for a more coordinated travel recovery among governments and industry players.
We wish her well too in her new career back in her homeland.
Then there’s David Peller who’s resigned as managing director, travel and hospitality, Amazon Web Services (AWS) after five years.
David Peller, exiting AWS after five years. Watch his next move.
Announcing it on LinkedIn, he shared his learnings – the only constant is change; get comfortable being uncomfortable; more wood, fewer arrows; be purposeful; and ask for forgiveness, not permission.
You’ve got to wonder where this executive, who’s worked for blue chip travel companies most of his career such as Google and Booking.com, could possibly head to, after AWS which is absolutely dominating in the travel and hospitality sector. He was coy about sharing his next step in his post but well, watch the cloud for signs if you believe in that kind of thing.
Meanwhile, at Agoda, a former Israeli military officer and startup founder is also in transition to becoming CEO #3 at the Thailand-based OTA. Omri Morgenshtern, who came to Agoda with the Qlicka acquisition, will take over the reins on July 1, and he shares his personal story of transition here as well as his plans for Agoda.
There will be a lot more leaderships transitions to come as we brush off the ravages of the past two years and try and get on with travel, life and our careers.
The world is in flux, politically, socially and economically. Travel is in flux, as destinations awaken, with the ones bold enough to dare challenge traveller perceptions of them. Travel companies are in flux, as each try to find a foothold in the shifting sands. And leaders have to move with the times.
Call it post-pandemic trauma or an opportunity to blaze new trails, it’s time to grab a front row seat to watch “Travel In Transition”, coming to a screen near you.
