OCTOBER 202319 and an executive committee member, I have invested a lot of time and effort in the transformational phase, but now that travel is well and truly on its way back, I can spend more time in the day for operations and business as usual. Could you please discuss some of the leading initiatives that your company has taken recently?One important initiative in our finance area is to globalize and standardize all our transactional finance worldwide as we are operating in over 20 countries. Every country had slightly different ways of doing things and that created inefficiencies globally. Key to this was to ensure we had a deep understanding of our processes and data around the world. Our data strategy, although in its infancy stages, has progressed significantly and I'm excited to see where it goes and what it can deliver.On the tech front we are using the likes of robotics to streamline repetitive key stroke duties our people are performing. We have invested heavily in our booking platform, our small and medium-size enterprise brand Corporate Traveler. It is called "Melon" and I can honestly say it's market leading, allowing our customers to seamlessly transact through our portal. They are able to find the product they are looking for and book their travel effortlessly. As a CFO of the company, are there other aspects you have kept in mind to see implemented in your company?What we strive for is never to be complacent. Our customer's needs are continuously changing. So, we do our best to be innovative to meet their needs. All our strategies are customer-led. We love having competition as it fuels our need to be continuously better.What would be your advice for CXOs or CFOs to improve their financial strategies?Three secrets to any success that I have been fortunate enough to experience has come from dreaming big, continuously working on relationships, and the power of storytelling. In any plan or strategy you set, if you shoot for mediocrity and safety, then that is what you'll ultimately deliver. I challenge my team to constantly think about how big our aspirations could be if we knew we couldn't fail. Likewise, CXOs and CFOs should encourage the team to support them and be committed to the same success factors they are ambitious about. When it comes to relationships, it's important to work on them and keep them at all levels. Good relationships mean the ability to influence, and that's critical for operating at our level. Lastly, storytelling is something anyone can learn and it has helped me tremendously over my career. I use it every day and it helps me to get my message across to whoever it may be, whether I am in a one-on-one or with a crowd of a thousand people. I love what I do and am privileged to work in such an amazing, people-driven business, selling the best product on the planet--that is holidays and memories. WE HAVE REBUILT OURSELVES AS A MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT OFFERS FAR BETTER PRODUCT AND SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS
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