Aline Gill, TMP

I will use one word: curiosity. I never really had a defined plan, like I'm gonna be this, and I'm gonna do that. I was open to the opportunities. Throughout my professional career, I was curious to see, "Can we do that? Can we not? How will I solve it?" And I really tried to stand by that. I also try to pass that to my team. If you don't know how to do X, be curious about it. Go and try to find out. Ask people why. Ask people how. We have calls with clients, and they tell us they're using the ABC strategy. Well, I ask, "Why is that important to you?" I think a curious attitude really gave me a lot of opportunities in this company and industry, so I'm very proud of that.

I had a great mentor, our CEO, Franci Edgerly. She has worked for fantastic companies, Disney, Hyatt, and others, very tourism industry-focused. I think the best advice she's given me isn't a single moment when she said a perfect sentence, but more about her attitude: "We can make it happen." It starts with listening to our customers (or audience), observing the situation, being attentive to their needs, and making it happen. When we shifted from heavy digital marketing services to software solutions (SaaS) about 8 years ago, we didn't have all the answers; we really didn't. But she was always very customer-centric, and I think that's advice I'll always take to any position. Doesn't matter what industry I'm in; it's listening to what the need is and how we can make it happen. How can we fulfill that need with a product or a service?

I would say, of course, to build the connections. In my case, tourism is a billion-dollar industry that many people don't realize. And women are the leaders. Secondly, being open to learning and to pushing yourself out of the box is key, even if you don't know all the details. I've been here for 13 years, and today I'm learning something new in technology. It is ever-changing and fast-paced. So stay in that learning mindset, because it's what any industry demands, and it's what the work we do in tech demands. And I think if you lose that, it can be challenging to keep up with the pace. So my advice is to stay in that learning mindset every day, because it will reward you.

I would say two challenges right now. With technology, which is what we're focused on, our core is software solutions; the pace of that is changing every minute of the day. So, keeping up with that learning curve and, in my position, translating it to teams and my team members so they understand and can take action with the new technology, AI, or solution available. It changes by the day, so keeping up with it so your product stays ahead is definitely a key challenge, but also an exciting opportunity. And then number two, I think it's just education in our industry. As I said, tourism is very niche, and I feel deeply that it's our role as service providers and innovation-driven leaders to continue to educate this industry, and I take that personally. So it's a challenge, but it's something we always have to be working on.

Personally and professionally, I think the one thing I can put on both is that I try to be transparent. When I work with customers, or in my personal life, just be transparent, just be honest. If it's something you can do, do it. If it's not, tell the person. That's how I approach our customer relations and the team day-to-day. If something is not working, if we are going through a hump, a challenge, like this is not going the way we intend it, I think being transparent, like what we can do, what we cannot do, what is not working for me, what is my expectation, I carry that through my personal life, too, I believe. And this value is deeply connected to my sense of curiosity, allowing me to always question, "Is there a better approach here?"