What do you do at Adara?
I am the Director for Partner Development, EMEA & APAC based in our EMEA head office in Dublin, managing some of the largest and most exciting travel brands in these regions. I’m responsible for integrating and growing our relationships with our 100+ data partners. I work closely with sales, business development, analytics, engineering and finance across Adara.
What is the biggest day to day challenge you face in your role, and how do you try to overcome that?
Trying not to get too caught up in the day to day tasks! While there will always be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly tasks, I often find that it’s the day to day tasks which can distract from focusing on the longer term and often more important projects that have greater impact.
Having said that, daily challenges can also be viewed as a positive. When trying to overcome these obstacles, it’s important to build on your strengths and use them to reduce your weaknesses.
What is the biggest challenge you face in the next 12 months and how are you preparing to face it?
We all have our own personal & company goals or challenges and the best way to tackle both of these is to be prepared and to be prepared to alter your plan. Within the partner team our biggest goal over the next 12 months is to ensure we expand our relationships with our data partners, but also to continue to grow the data available to us in the right markets.
We have a big 12 months ahead as our new products Adara Traveler Value Score and Adara Impact are brought to market. In order to do this well, it’s critical to work cohesively across all functions/departments within Adara.
What do you love about working in the travel sector?
The travel industry is the one the world’s most dynamic and innovative industries and I’ve been lucky to work in this industry for more than 15 years, starting in a company called USIT, a student youth travel organization. I then moved to Bookassist, a hotel booking technology provider before working with Adara. The best thing about working with these companies, apart from their innovative products, has been the people that I work with. If you’re lucky enough and if your product has international appeal, then you more than likely have the opportunity to speak/meet with people from across the globe.
What is your favorite holiday destination?
I’m going to cheat slightly and give you three destinations in equal first place. Thailand, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica. They have the friendliest people, best beaches, tropical weather, exotic food & excellent surf.
What is your #1 Bucket list travel destination?
Has to be China, it’s a country that is steeped in history and a place that has been on my list for a while now. I’d like to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Yellow Mountain, Terracotta Army, and Shanghai to name just a few…
What are the three things you would take with you to a deserted island?
I’m assuming there is wi-fi and a hammock already there?! In which case I would bring the following items:
- Mobile Phone to stream Spotify, Netflix and Premier League football
- 24 months unlimited access to Rosetta Stone to learn ‘Chinese’ (for my trip to China!)
- Juggling balls