We’re all fans of Fiona Dalton here at KARRYON. And now we’ve learned that you, our dear readers, are too, having voted her as the most outstanding female travel leader in Australia in this year’s inaugural KARRYON Awards.
Fiona began her career as a bullion trader for Rothschild Australia before enjoying a glittering sales career at American Express then heading up Qantas Holidays portfolio of brands. She is now the Managing Director of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.
We had a chat with Fiona to learn more about what drives her to be such an inspirational figure in the travel industry.
What highlights do you think helped you win the KARRYON Award?
fiona-dalton
It’s hard to know but I hope it’s some of the innovation delivered during my time back in wholesale, and also now at Uniworld and U by Uniworld, that has resonated with your voters.
I’ve come to hold a very deep appreciation for the obstacles travel agents face every single day and a great respect for the commitment that most have to their clients. With this in mind, and as a team, we are always trying to deliver solutions that are innovative and agent friendly and that make a difference, whether it be new products, new technology or something as simple as streamlined processes.
I am fortunate to have been the spokesperson for many of these whether at conferences or in my travels around Australia connecting with our partners which has been such a privilege.
What’s next for you this year you’d love our readers to know about?
Right now the team and I are super focused at Uniworld on delivering on our 2018 goals, but personally I hope to invest in some self-development of my own over the next 12 months.
The Chief Executive Women’s network offer annual scholarships to senior business leaders to attend short term advanced management programs at some of the world’s great business schools, including Insead, Harvard or Wharton, and I’d like to use this award as my inspiration to apply.
I also hope to give some more time to mentoring those coming up through the industry over the remainder of the year.
What does winning this award mean to you?
Honestly, it means the world to me. It’s really a career highlight, and to be in the esteemed company of Skroo Turner and the multi award winning BDM Liz Hutchison is pretty cool!
What would you like to say to everyone that voted for you?
A heartfelt thank you to everyone, including the retail community but also my team, past and present, and the people I work with across TTC too.
There’s never a day when I don’t take my responsibilities seriously and when I think of all the extraordinary women I’ve met that I admire and respect across the travel industry, and there are many, I feel very humbled by this experience.
I also want to thank KARRYON for hosting these awards, and finally my very patient family whom I love to the moon and back.
READ: The KARRYON 2018 AWARDS: All the winners revealed
READ: KARRYON AWARD WINNER: Meet your favourite BDM: Elizabeth Hutchison, Air NZ
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