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It has been a steady and rewarding path to Flight Centre South Africa’s senior management team for Janine Salame, General Manager of Retail. Currently responsible for the operations of more than 130 Flight Centre, Student Flight and Travel Associate stores and 450 consultants across the country, Janine started her career as a travel consultant in the Brooklyn Square store, Pretoria, in 2000. She quickly progressed to the role of Team Leader, and then to Area Leader of the highly successful Fearless Factors. In 2006 she was promoted to her current role.
Janine, who is energetic, passionate and self-motivated, loves working for Flight Centre because it gives her the opportunity to work with people and have a hand in their personal and professional growth on a daily basis. Flight Centre offers employees empowerment and ownership in their businesses. Janine has benefited and learnt from being allowed to make her own decisions within the support structure offered by Flight Centre.
Janine would like to see the Flight Centre brand grow from strength to strength. She is a firm
believer in individual leadership development, and believes that this will be an integral ingredient of the brands growth.
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| Daniela Kelfkens: General Manager Retail |
I Like many of Flight Centre’s senior managers, Daniela has steadily worked her way to the top.
With humble beginnings as a travel consultant in 2001, Ms Kelfkens cut her ‘travel teeth’ at the Flight Centre Menlyn (Pretoria) before being appointed as a future team leader in both the Menlyn and Brooklyn Mall stores, and then as store manager.
During her tenure at Menlyn her store scooped many Flight Centre awards including Most Improved Business in South Africa.
Daniela is a go-getting super-achiever for whom the sky is not the limit and it came as no surprise that she was appointed regional manager for the top performing Pretoria area in July 2006, and then making the move to the fairest Cape February 2009 to take on an area manager role in this region.
Ms Kelfkens strengths lie in her dedication to her staff members and her ability to provide an excellent platform for consumers to purchase their dream travel packages. She will look after all the retail travel stores in the Flight Centre group including the Flight Centre and Student Flights store.
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| Sam van Gool: HR Manager |
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Like most of the leaders at Flight Centre South Africa, Sam van Gool has risen through the ranks, from consultant to Peopleworks Leader. Her passion for the staff at Flight Centre is evident through her commitment to the Flight Centre philosophy of “Our Company is our People”.
Sam qualified in microbiology and genetics and was in the middle of her studies to be a medical doctor when she took time out to travel through Europe. During this time the travel bug bit and after a short stay back home for a family wedding she accepted a job with Flight Centre.
Ostensibly the job was meant to tide her over until she could continue her travels but the Flight Centre bug then bit. How to combine both a love for travel and for people? Work for South Africa’s top travel retailer! Sam joined the Flight Centre group in 1999 as a consultant in the Fourways branch and before the year was out she was promoted to store manager.
In 2003 Sam took the opportunity to explore the corporate brand of Flight Centre (FCm Travel Solutions) before taking up a position as a national trainer in the Learning Centre. When the opportunity arose to take over the Learning Centre in 2006/7 Sam put her hand up and was appointed.
In 2007 after a successful stint taking care of the development needs of the company Sam was promoted to look after all Flight Centre’s Human Resource needs. As the leader of Peopleworks Sam is very excited about the prospects for all staff members (current and future) at Flight Centre
Sam is very motivated and passionate about people and recently became a mom so work/life balance is a very important aspect of working for the Flight Centre group.
Her portfolio includes Recruitment, the Learning Centre, Careerwise, Paymatters and Healthwise.
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| Lee-Ann Scholz: GM - Technology |
Lee-Ann Scholz has been an integral part of Flight Centre’s top management for over 11 years. Having started with the company in 1996 as a ticketer Ms Scholz has had a steady career path through the ranks of Flight Centre.
In 2002 Lee-Ann took on the role of Product Nation leader in charge of marketing, ticketing and the company’s in-house wholesaler. She has also led the retail division (appointed in July 2004) before taking on the responsibilities of the group’s technology division.
Her current role means that she leads a team of highly skilled and technically proficient information technology gurus and project managers. Her aim is to ensure that Flight Centre remains ahead of the game in terms of technology and systems development.
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| Liane Cowan: GM - Marketing |
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Highly motivated, passionate about staff development and totally determined to bring the best travel products to the South African public. These are three key drivers that define Flight Centre’s marketing general manager, Ms Liane Cowan.
Like most Flight Centre staff members the travel bug bit early in life when Liane took a gap year and explored most of continental Europe, Israel, Egypt, the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and much of the Far East. She returned to the sunny shores of South Africa to care for her great aunt and answered a Flight Centre advert in 1996.
Liane excelled in her first role in the group as a travel consultant in The Firs store (Rosebank) scooping up the Top Novice award in 1997. From here onwards her career path through the ranks was cast in concrete. Promotions to store manager, mentoring roles, e-commerce leader and marketing services leader soon followed. Ms Cowan was appointed as the group’s marketing GM in May 2009
Her challenges are to grow the specialised brands, to increase Flight Centre’s market share and ensure that travellers get the perfect product at the perfect price from any of the group’s retail outlets.
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| Dave Strange: Product Nation Leader |
His love for the Flight Centre ethics and philosophies, exceptional drive and his determination to see every staff member succeed beyond their wildest dreams are the key features that Dave Strange brings to the role of Product Nation Leader for the Flight Centre group.
Dave began his Flight Centre career in 1998 after travelling the world as a professional tennis coach. With the travel bug firmly entrenched a career in travel beckoned after he answered a recruitment advert in The Guardian. And the rest, as they say, is history.
A carefully crafted career path saw Dave rise through the ranks from consultant to team leader to area leader for the London region. Success breeds success and Dave won the United Kingdom’s top consultant three times over and the Flight Centre Top Global consultant award. He has also taken all the stores under his management to high levels of success.
Dave is married to Kim, a South African, and grabbed the opportunity to move here in 2006, taking over the role of area leader for the Kwazulu Natal region.
His natural ‘gift of the gab’ and his passion for bringing top notch travel products to the retail staff and Flight Centre’s clients meant a natural progression to Product Nation leader in 2009. His aim is to bring retail focussed product to the coal-face of all of Flight Centre’s brands..
When not in the office Dave spends his time in the gym or babysitting the newest Strange family member – little Jack.
And planning his next move up the Flight Centre corporate ladder.
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| Lance Wayne: Chief Financial Officer |
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The newest addition to the Flight Centre family, Lance Wayne, brings with him a wealth of commercial, strategic, marketing and operational experience gained after 13 years post-qualification experience in the Advertising, Media and Entertainment sectors, both in South Africa and abroad.
With a B.Comm Honours from Durban University and articles from Ernst and Young. He also has a post-graduate degree in Marketing Management.
Mr. Wayne’s previous work experience includes McCann Worldgroup South Africa, Mediaedge, FCB Jonssons and Nu Metro Theatres. This excellent and varied experience forms the core qualities he brings to Flight Centre South Africa.
The travel bug bit Lance early in his career with secondments to San Francisco and Cambridge. While working in the United Kingdom and the States he was able to enjoy numerous travels around the globe
Honesty, integrity, proven leadership, teamwork and good communication are a set of skills he will draw on during his tenure at Flight Centre. This Durban-born, self-confessed travel addict believes that his passion and enthusiasm for travel make him an ideal fit for the group.
In his spare time Mr. Wayne enjoys tennis, cycling, scuba diving, genealogy, the outdoors and travel.
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