Want to raise your profile? Confused by bonding regulations? Just ask The Troubleshooters.
Travel Weekly has picked six of the best experts in the industry to give you the benefit of their experience and knowledge – at no cost to you. Here’s a quick guide to who they are, what they do, and how they can help.
Got a question for The Troubleshooters? Click here
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Age: 43
Job title: TV presenter
Responsibilities: standing in front of the camera and speaking
Areas of expertise: media, brand marketing, PR, internal communications, presentation skills
Previous jobs: corporate communications director with Thomson Travel Group; communications director with Going Places; communications director with Thomas Cook; civil servant (lasted a week!); grass cutter and British Rail tea boy
Hobbies: yoga, spa holidays, football – I’m an Arsenal fanatic
Fascinating fact: I’m not the bloke from the Halifax building society
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: I’m sure I can give plenty of advice on how to solve readers’ media/PR and internal communications challenges
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Age: 49
Job title: head of aviation and travel at Field Fisher Waterhouse.
Responsibilities: advising clients
Area of expertise: legal issues for travel companies
Previous jobs: ‘slammer’ in a fish factory in the Shetlands during the summer of 1975
Hobbies: wine, golf and relaxation
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: I will be able to lead tour operators and agents through the legal minefield
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Age: 58
Job title: consultant
Responsibilities: helping travel firms with consumer protection problems and regulatory issues
Areas of expertise: air travel regulation
Previous jobs: group director consumer protection at the Civil Aviation Authority
Hobbies: playing bad golf, birds, good food and good wine
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: consumer protection is becoming more and more important in the world of air travel and the regulatory environment is changing all the time. I can help anyone in the travel industry who, not surprisingly, is confused by all this, and will help to make sure they are complying with the law
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Age: 43
Job title: head of travel business at Barclays
Responsibilities: national responsibility for the travel sector including formulating and implementing strategy and leading a virtual team of relationship directors around the country
Areas of expertise: lending – including acquisition finance, foreign exchange, cash management, Internet banking and credit card merchant services
Previous jobs: none, only Barclays
Hobbies: travel and sports – playing and watching football, golf and cricket
Fascinating fact: I’m a football fanatic who has seen a match at all 92 football league grounds in England and Wales
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: dealing with travel companies’ financial issues and working with customers means I can find a solution to most things
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Name: Louise Palmer (left)
Age: 38
Job title: managing director at 7 Days consultancy firm
Responsibilities: jointly running the small, niche consulting firm
Areas of expertise: organisation effectiveness, design and development
Previous jobs: group director organisation development, Thomson Travel Group; at British Airways under its Change agenda; senior HR consultant, Coopers and Lybrand
Hobbies: keeping fit
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: by suggesting practical ways of responding to organisational and people-related issues
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Name: Jill Foley (right)
Age: 43
Job title: MD at 7 Days
Responsibilities: running things with Louise
Areas of expertise: talent management and leadership development
Previous jobs: head of organisation learning and development, Nortel Networks Europe; director UK HR, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Hobbies: playing football with my kids; music
Fascinating fact: walked 70 miles along the Great Wall of China for Breakthrough Breast Cancer
How I can help Travel Weekly readers: it’s just as Louise said – organisation/people problems
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Have you got a question for one of our Troubleshooters?
Contact them at the usual Travel Weekly address, or e-mail travel.weekly@rbi.co.uk