meet

meet

the

MD

This week: Nigel Carpenter, TravelChest.com

Age: 41

MY CAREER has taken a varied and eventful route to its current position. I am lucky to have had a good grounding in marketing and general management for blue chip companies – in my case these included Thomson Holidays and General Foods.

I began my career in the travel industry as assistant product manager at Thomson and, after a further two years at General Foods, I returned to Thomson as marketing manager. This was undoubtedly a valuable time, during which I learnt a great deal about day-to-day management and the fundamentals of running a business.

Although I knew I didn’t want to do it forever, working within a big corporate environment stimulated my business and commercial acumen and put me in touch with some influential people who later were to prove invaluable to the development of TravelChest.com.

I have always looked at the bigger picture in everything I tackle and have intuitively felt inclined to take things forward that extra step, often into uncharted waters, hence my latest and most exciting venture – TravelChest.com. It was perhaps inevitable that employment within a large organisation begins to have its limitations and it wasn’t long before I decided to go it alone.

In 1990 I set up a marketing and strategy consultancy, Fast Forward Consultants. Clients were from a wide variety of business sectors, and included Britannia Airways, Cadbury Confectionery, Daily Telegraph and UNICEF. The company quickly developed and undertook assignments ranging from brand development to corporate and marketing strategy.

This was a whole new environment from which I could draw experience and hone my creative and consumer skills as I applied my knowledge to more varied areas of industry. It also proved to be a springboard for an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime experience.

In 1994, I was approached by the eminent zoologist Dr Richard Leakey to join him in Kenya to set up a management and sustainability programme for the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

This was an inspirational time for me and culminated in being approached for the position of first ever chief executive of the Kenyan Tourist Board and subsequently the chairman of Block Hotels.

Towards the end of my time in Kenya, I once again had an overwhelming urge to set up on my own – but this time I knew it had to be for good. The idea for TravelChest.com came about shortly after we had settled back in the UK and, with our second baby on the way, for the first time in years I decided it was time to set about planning a family holiday.

After spending five full days ringing round tour operators and trawling through numerous brochures in a quest to find our perfect Italian holiday, I decided there simply had to be a better way. What I needed was a rich source of travel information which could be accessed quickly from one point and tailored to suit my specific criteria. I realised that if I needed such a product, I couldn’t be the only one.

It seemed to me that if I could combine the rapid development of Web technology with a new level of personal service, I would have a winning ticket. After a chat with a senior director of Thomson Holidays, it transpired that I had my initial support to develop TravelChest.com.

TravelChest.com is intrinsically a travel agency – but quite unlike anything that is on the high street today.

It incorporates a rich and functional Web site which gives customers easy access to hundreds of independent tour operators and a powerful search engine which enables users to compare options easily.

The site is linked to our wholly owned travel advice centre, staffed by some of the best travel consultants in the business. When a customer is satisfied with his research and wishes to talk to a consultant, a simple click on an icon will make a connection with one of our consultants who can make recommendations, find out more details and ultimately take the booking.

CURRICULUM VITAE

1981: Thomson Travel, assistant product manager.

1982: General Foods, product manager.

1984: Thomson Travel, marketing manager.

1987: Grand Metropolitan Brewing, marketing manager.

1989: sabbatical year. Managed the resort operations of UK Ski company in Switzerland before travelling extensively in Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

1990: Fast Forward Consultants, MD/proprietor. Set up and launched marketing and strategy consultants.

1993: Kenya Wildlife Service, commercial director.

1996: Kenya Tourist Board, chief executive.

1997: Block Hotels, group MD.

2000: Launched TravelChest.com.

MY TOP TIPS

&#8226 Not everyone will see the value of your ideas, so be prepared to fight for what you believe in. The strength and perseverance you show will be very persuasive.l Examine yourself as a consumer, draw inspiration from your needs and desires and apply within the marketplace.

&#8226 Set yourself the highest targets; tourism and in particular the new media sectors are changing so fast that the only way to succeed is to be visionary and aim for the top.

&#8226 Be different and think differently, because as long as you deliver all your consumers’ expectations on price, quality and speed of service, you will succeed.