meet

meet

the

MD

This week: Roy Myhill, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

Age: 39

Age: 39

Your formative years, education and upbringing play a role in moulding who you are and, to some extent, what you become.

For me, passing the 11 Plus and getting into the best grammar school in Newcastle was a mixed blessing.

I was average at grammar school which was new to me, as I was always top of the class at primary school.

I’m proud to be an ‘old boy’ of St Cuthberts which produced Sting and The Pet Shop Boys – not to mention Frank Bough! But I didn’t like being second best and I’m sure this spurred me on when I started my career.

Learn from your mistakes

I was advised the travel industry would offer chance to progress quickly through the ranks. I was successful with my first job application and spent the next four years in retail travel.

I was then offered a job with Cosmos, where I spent two years as a sales rep for the northeast Cumbria and North Yorkshire region.

I realised tour operating was where I wanted to be. I loved working with agents and seeing my efforts translate into sales. I also had fun and made many friends along the way.

After two years, I joined the Birmingham office of Cosmos, responsible for the Midlands.

I left Cosmos to join British Airways Holidays reporting to Mary Crisp who’d joined from ILG.

I’ll never forget Mary’s advice when she told me she had strengths and weaknesses, and I was to learn from her strengths and identify her weaknesses to ensure I didn’t replicate them.

Turn negatives into positives

One of the advantages of seeing many different businesses is that you learn to identify the strong. This gave me a feel for business and I learned success required clear direction and leadership from the top, which is important in any company.

I learned to turn negative situations into positives and took great satisfaction from cracking the tough nuts.

I left British Airways Holidays after a relatively short period when Redwing acquired the operation, choosing instead to join Mary Crisp at Sol Holidays as general manager for the north. This was my first move into management, running the Manchester regional office, responsible for the north and Midlands operation. With the call centre and a team of five sales reps on the road, the learning curve was steep.

I knew I was being thrown in at the deep end but the support from the board of Sol was excellent. It’s often the best way to learn swiftly and I loved every minute of it.

I soon discovered you’re only as strong as your weakest link so the team you build has to be the best.

When Sol was sold to ILG, I left and joined Unijet as national field sales manager but after just nine months, Cosmos contacted me with a senior management role and I rejoined them. In total, my time there was two spells of five years, which I did feel, was too long, especially as I hadn’t reached the level I had wanted.

Be prepared to go the extra mile

I was becoming disillusioned with mass-market tour operating and wanted to specialise, so I joined Getaway in 1995 as sales director. A year later, operations was added to my responsibilities, which included the call centre.

I was encouraged to make significant changes that would eventually benefit the company but not without some pain first.

When Val Chang, then MD of Getaway, decided to move to Citalia, I was appointed MD. This was a milestone in my career plan but there was a learning curve associated with the appointment.

Selecting and building a strong management team is an MD’s most important role. At Getaway, I have a dedicated team prepared to go the extra mile for the company.

If I can take any credit it would be for the fact that I have selected good people who do a great job for the company.

Heading a team of 50-plus, you get to know everyone and I value and encourage feedback from my team at every level.

There is no absolute formula for reaching the top. You must want to get there, have a plan of action, follow it despite setbacks and never lose your sense of humour.

CURRICULUM VITAE

1982: northern sales representative, Cosmos

1984: Midlands sales representative, Cosmos

1986: Midlands sales representative, British Airways Holidays

1987: General manager north, Sol Holidays

1990: National field sales manager, Unijet

1991: Regional general manager, Cosmos

1993: Account director, Cosmos

1995: Sales director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

1996: Sales and operations director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

1997: Managing director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

1982: northern sales representative, Cosmos

1984: Midlands sales representative, Cosmos

1986: Midlands sales representative, British Airways Holidays

1987: General manager north, Sol Holidays

1990: National field sales manager, Unijet

1991: Regional general manager, Cosmos

1993: Account director, Cosmos

1995: Sales director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

1996: Sales and operations director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

1997: Managing director, The Getaway Group (UK) Inc.

MY TOP TIPS

&#8226 Be indispensable.

&#8226 Be clear about what you want and develop a strategy to get yourself there.

&#8226 Increase your knowledge and skills whenever possible and not just at work.

&#8226 Pursue excellence in everything you do.

&#8226 Reflect on major tasks and ask yourself how you could have performed better.

&#8226 Use any disappointments to increase your determination to succeed.

&#8226 Listen to your team and be prepared to change course – their ideas may be better than yours.