How long have you been in the business? Too long! For 37 wonderful years, back years ago as Luciani World Travel.
How many people work for you? About 10 at the head office, plus regional managers. And we have about 500 home-based professionals.
What was your first job? I worked in the family business fruit market when I was in elementary school.
Ever had a brush with fame? No – but I did work with Walt Disney in the 60s so I’ve had a brush with characters!
What skill or talent do you admire in someone? Honesty.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? I’ve travelled extensively and bungee jumping certainly scared the hell out of me! And once on a safari after sunset we came across a group of lions – that was quite an experience.
What’s your favourite airline? Currently WestJet and Porter are excellent.
What do people not know about you? I love to volunteer with Knights of Columbus and am always involved in some volunteer project.
Any hobbies or interests? My son is trying to get me into golf and I’ve promised to try this year!
What’s your favourite all-time movie? Love Story. I’m a softie.
What keeps you awake at night? As an entrepreneur I don’t think you ever really sleep the whole night through - you’re always thinking of the next opportunity.
Whom do you most respect in the industry? There are some great people in the industry – including our new VP of marketing Phil Egan. Also Mike Merrithew of Merit Travel, among others.
If you could change one thing about the industry what would it be? We have so many bright individuals and we all seem to be going in different directions. We seem to be all over the map.
They say that keeping staff is one of the biggest challenges in our business. What is it that you do to retain staff? We have a wonderful rapport, we treat each other with respect, and we have some fun as well. More offices should integrate some fun into the workday.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years? Hopefully speaking about the industry - we still need to attract bright young men and women to this business.
