Midweek Interview with Collette’s Roger Clulow

Midweek Interview with Collette’s Roger Clulow

This week, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset with Collette’s senior global contracting manager. Well, he enjoyed the sunset – we emailed him and took a nap instead.

The challenge for the industry is…

Jittery global and domestic economics is a big concern for certain sectors of the market right now. Cycles are part and parcel of our industry but I think we have an interesting two to three years ahead of us.

The things I like about my job are…

Meeting people and travelling. That’s the reason most of us got into the travel industry in the first place!

And the frustrations are…

Time difference between Australia and the US East Coast means it isn’t always easy to call people when you’d like – and vice versa. That can be frustrating when you have a quick question you’d like to ask but cannot do so.

If I didn’t work in travel, I would be…

Something in sports management.

My favourite airline is…

Mostly Qantas as they have direct flights on most of the key domestic and international routes I use.

My proudest moment was…

Each of my kids being born.

The naughtiest thing I ever did was…

Mmm… quite a few in my teens, which I’d rather not share!

I try to relax by…

Running.

The last time I feared for my life was…

During an earthquake in Tanzania some years back. I was stuck in a building which was shaking violently and I was convinced it was going to collapse at any second. Thankfully it didn’t but there was a lot of damage. Very scary.

If I can, I always try to avoid…

Being away from my family over too many weekends.

I really wish I had…

Been part of Pink Floyd.

The best advice I’ve ever received was…

It really is okay to make mistakes – and you should make lots of them.

I don’t understand why people…

Complain about things but then don’t do anything to resolve the situation.

My greatest weakness is…

Trying to keep everyone happy.

And my greatest strength is…

Working well with people and forging strong relationships.

If I was prime minister, I would…

Cut all politicians travel and entertainment budgets in half and make them fly commercial airlines, economy class.

If I won $1million on the lottery I would…

Invest and take a long holiday.

If I could be someone else for one day, I would be a…

Surgeon. Fixing or repairing something which improves the quality of someone’s life would be very gratifying.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

A number of places still on my bucket list. Everest Base Camp would be right up there.

My favourite holiday was…

Scandinavia and the Baltics with my wife, and all holidays with my kids.

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