| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 12/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 55 |
| Copyright: Other |
meetthe
MD
This week: Gary Beckwith, City Cruises (River liner operator)
Age: 47
TO SAY I’ve had a chequered career on my way to running the City Cruises Riverliners to the Millennium Dome would be an understatement.School didn’t agree with me in particular because I am dyslexic and I was doing two or three different jobs to help out with the family budget.
My first full-time job was working for the Prudential as a clerk. One warm day I took off my jacket and put it on the back of my chair.
Apparently this is simply not the done thing at the Prudential and we parted company soon after. It was my first lesson in how to, or rather how not to, deal with staff.
Eventually, a family friend offered me work on a sightseeing boat on the River Thames and I knew from there on that my life was destined to be spent on the river.
I took several jobs to help me achieve my ambition of owning a boat, including working as a croupier in a casino in Teheran.
The money was good and there was nothing to spend it on, so in April 1976 I finally got enough cash together to buy a floating filling station moored near the Houses of Parliament
Business was good and I was able to make my second purchase, a floating cash and carry, supplying alcohol to the sightseeing and charter boats.
The move into sightseeing came in 1985 with the purchase of The King, one of the traditional wooden boats operating the summer service from Westminster to Hampton Court.
From there we bought a sightseeing company operating from Westminster to Tower in 1988.
The next stage in my career was arguably the most difficult. In the early days there were 14 boats on the Westminster to Tower route, owned by several companies.
Individually they couldn’t achieve anything, so I made a decision to buy them out.
It took several years and proved a stern test of my deal-making skills and my relationship with the bank manager. However, we were ultimately successful and the Red Fleet was born.
But, as was always the case, I had my eye on bigger and better things.
I wanted to build a fleet of boats that were bigger than anything seen before on the Thames or even the River Seine.
And so, in 1996 the first of what was to become the fleet of Dome Riverliners took shape, it was the Millennium of London.
This was the first new sightseeing boat for the Thames in 25 years and in October, we were proud and privileged to welcome the Queen to name the boat.
Having the Queen and Prince Phillip on board was the proudest moment of my life, yet it was a moment that was to be repeated a few years later.
City Cruises went from strength to strength and, ultimately, we were awarded the licence to operate the Riverliner service from Waterloo Pier to the Millennium Dome. And so I found myself welcoming the Queen on board once more, as she travelled with us to the Dome on New Year’s Eve last year.
The travel trade has proved instrumental in the success of City Cruises and it has long been our policy to forge links with the major travel operators.
The opening of the Dome has revived an interest in the Thames and as a result, more operators are including City Cruises in their programmes.
My passion for the travel trade has led me to become the chairman of the associates panel of British Incoming Tour Operators Association and in that role I am continually encouraging members to be more proactive.
City Cruises has invested more than £5m in building a fleet of Riverliners to operate the Dome route, the largest investment in sightseeing craft that Britain has ever seen.
It is my opinion that, no matter what future the Millennium Dome may have, we will be operating an extremely successful river operation for many years to come.
CURRICULUM VITAE
1976: bought first boat, a floating filling station.
MY TOP TIPS
l Self-belief is a vital key to great success in your career.
* Remember that a big business is a small business that did things right.
* Know what everyone in the company does and know how to do their job yourself.
* Stay focused and stand your ground. Nothing ever gets done if you decide to back down.
* Have the courage to do what you know needs to be done.
* Know your industry, network and listen to people.
* Innovate.
* Take your jacket off whenever you want to.