Our People: Tommy Kwan, Head of Business Controlling, Kuoni Tumlare

MY DAY-TO-DAY

Financial Conscience of the Business

In Business Controlling, our role is to support and challenge the Business to deliver our financial targets.

A big part of what I do is management reporting, planning and analysis. We can think of this as translating the operational strategy into financial plans. Only by understanding and tracking this, can we drive value-added actions, make financially sound decisions and ultimately uplift the financial performance of the business.

The most interesting and exciting aspect of what I do is the Finance Business Partnering. You can think of my team as the ‘Financial Conscience’ of the business. I spend my time engaging with our leaders, understanding the tactical and strategic decisions of the business and consulting on what it means for our Financials.

WHY TRAVEL?

Mixing Business With Pleasure

It was not until I entered university that I had the chance to go abroad. My first trip was to on the Greek island of Rhodes with my university mates. Admittedly it didn’t start so well. I was thinking ‘Why is nothing open? I’m starving!’ during lunchtime. Only then I learned of “The Siesta”. Anyway, at the end of the trip, my eyes were really opened to the joys and wonders of Travel. I had caught the ‘travel bug’ as some call it.

The travel industry has come a long way since then - destination trends change, customer behaviour shifts and the industry evolves. There is unpredictability and complexity. All of these dynamics make it a great industry where one can develop and grow professionally.

They say ‘don’t mix business with pleasure’, but in my case, and I’m sure for many in travel industry, it is the natural choice.

WHY KUONI TUMLARE?

We’re Like a Family

The reasons are numerous. If I must pick one, the answer would be simple - the people.

There are of course some typical descriptors like knowledgeable, professional, passionate etc, but what sets us apart is this feeling of being in the ’Kuoni Tumlare Family’.

From the Customer Service team that invited me to their hotpot event in my first week of work, to our colleagues that took time out of their own day to welcome me to their country, and now with the leaders I interact with day to day. It gives me not just a team spirit, but also the feeling of Family.

CORE VALUE

We’re Successful Only If Our Partners are Successful

Being a B2B company, we connect the Clients to the Suppliers. The company is successful only if our Business Partners are successful. This also applies to myself and my team to our internal customers. ’Partner First’ mindset is of the utmost importance and can’t be more natural to us. We live and breathe ‘Partner First’ - It is more than what we do, it is what we are.

PROUDEST MOMENT

Medium Term Plan Development

I worked alongside the Chief Operation Officer and his team to build the financial model for the Medium Term Plan (MTP) of Destination Management. Under extreme time pressure, we had to create the financial modelling to support the MTP discussions, to an appropriate level of detail, with ever changing modelling assumptions and multiple scenario builds. This is quite an achievement to me.

FAVOURITE DESTINATION

Thailand – All In One Place

That’s the toughest question of all, the places I have visited are racing through my mind right now, how to choose a favourite?

You have all the destinations in the west, rich in culture and heritage, with landmarks known the world over. You have those in the far east, from the busy night markets in Taipei to the beauty and tranquillity of Okinawa.

If I had to choose, I’d go for Thailand. It has it all from island/beach resorts to busy city life, from mountainous regions, meandering rivers to beautiful waterfalls (Erawan National Park if you love waterfalls!). There are lots of temples, delicious food, friendly people. Most importantly, it’s super value for money.