AFTER a year which they would rather forget, Thomson Travel Group’s beleaguered shareholders can at least go into the new millennium with some optimism.
With the appointment of an outsider, former British Airways director of passenger and cargo business Charles Gurassa to the position of chief executive, the operator has signalled its intention to break away from a formula and culture which no longer works.
Acting chief executive Roger Burnell is very capable but Thomson clearly felt he had too many links with the arrogant company of old.
In addition, analysts felt Burnell would struggle to get backing from the City in the short term (Travel Weekly November 1).
Having decided to go for an outsider, Gurassa seems like a sensible choice. He knows the industry and is regarded as an intelligent strategist. He is perhaps more reserved than some chief executives, but that doesn’t matter. You could argue that Sir Colin Marshall at BA was reserved, while Francis Baron at First Choice was outgoing and charismatic – but everyone knows which one succeeded.
Gurassa is personable and should not have any problem in communicating – providing he has got the right strategy.
But Gurassa has his critics. They say he has limited knowledge of tour operating and during his time at Thomas Cook, which was then predominantly a retailer, the multiple lost leadership to Lunn Poly.
They also point out that he was frozen out of a BA management team which has performed poorly this year.
In addition, Gurassa didn’t have a lot of competition for the job. There aren’t many around who are capable or available to take on such a big job and the city’s favourite, First Choice group chief executive Peter Long, seems happy in his current position.
If Thomson had tried to prise away any top executive from Airtours, it would have had to wait anything up to two years for the person to start and the market leader needs a new chief executive quickly.
But Gurassa will be able to quickly silence those critics if he can revive Thomson’s fortunes.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people and the danger is that everyone else knows how to run the company,” said Gurassa.
“Until you get inside the company and have a look at everything, you can’t make those decisions.”
Wise words, but it does seem that once Gurassa gets his feet under the table, he’ll be working hard for his salary, reputed to be a basic of around £400,000 a year, plus bonuses and a healthy share option package.
The choice of new people to help him, including a chairman to replace Michael Brown, will be crucial.
Others will also need to be brought in at all levels of the business to improve Thomson’s performance.
Thomson has always been very insular with its appointments but I expect Gurassa will change all that, bringing in successful managers from rival operators.
Gurassa will also have to make some painful decisions as he looks to strip out costs and make the company more efficient for the new millennium – redundancies are likely in some departments.
He could also elevate the importance of the tour operation which drives profits and has still managed to set the standards in mass-market holidays during a turbulent year.
On top of all that, Gurassa needs to plan a European strategy for Thomson, which has fallen behind Preussag and Airtours as global players.
This time next year, the knives will be out for Gurassa if there’s no sign of change at the market leader. But there’s no point in plunging the knife in before the guy has had a chance to show what he can do.
Age: 43
1978:joined Thomas Cook as a graduate trainee. Rose to the position of general manager of all Thomas Cook’s retail operations – a business comprising a national network of shops, more than 3,000 staff and approximately £1.2bn of sales.
1989: recruited to run British Airways’ leisure business, including Air Miles, Poundstretcher, British Airways Holidays and Four Corners and BAshops.
1992: BA’s UK shuttle and domestic businesses and Caledonian Airways added to portfolio.
1993:headed the airline’s operations in the Americas.
1995:became BA head of world sales.
1996:director of passenger and cargo business at BA.
1999:appointed chief executive of Thomson Travel Group.