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Meet The Troubleshooters

(16 June 2005)

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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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

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