THE RECRUITMENT process to fill three key roles at PATA is well underway, according to the organisation’s interim CEO, Bill Calderwood.
The first interviews for the roles of director of marketing & membership and regional director Asia will be held this week. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be in a position to make a decision by mid-July, and then have someone in place by the end of August for both positions,” said Calderwood.
Meanwhile, candidates interested in the position of CEO have until the end of June to submit their applications, after which PATA will work together with an executive search team to select the successful individual. The aim is to have someone identified, appointed and in place by October, said Calderwood.
To ensure that the new appointees will be able to hit the ground running, Calderwood explained that PATA was currently working on a series of strategies and plans that would allow them to turn April’s strategic focus paper into more concrete deliverables.
At the heart of this was what Calderwood referred to as the Strategic Link Programme, which will ensure that different components of PATA’s service delivery – from insights and research, to events, advocacy, marketing and communications – focus on the same issues identified as being most relevant to PATA members.
“This is the way in which the strategic plan is evolving,” he said. “I want to see PATA become one team, with one voice, one message and one focus. That focus has got to be about building the business.”
Calderwood said he was currently working on 15 different projects for PATA. The projects include looking at how to improve the organisation’s membership structure, setting up new committees, establishing the new Outreach Programme (which will see PATA hold highly-focused events in key ‘world cities’), Chapter development, communications, developing organisational structure, research and insights, providing education and training, as well as setting up tasks forces – of which two are now up and running (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 12).
While many of these plans are still in their infancy, Calderwood said he was already seeing a change in attitude towards PATA. “In recent weeks, I’ve spoken at various conferences, and it’s been very interesting to hear the reaction of companies who have not engaged with PATA in the past, but now are seeing it from a different perspective,” said Calderwood.
“They’re now talking about joining up as members,” he said. “It’s not because I’m a better salesperson, but because we’re talking in a simple language that people can understand. We’re talking from the consumer perspective, rather than perhaps from more of a production perspective.”
By Catherine Monthienvichienchai
