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James Beagrie - CEO
Our founder and CEO, James has over the last 30 years travelled extensively throughout the world both for business and pleasure. After founding his own travel insurance company and a worldwide medical assistance company at the age of 23 James topped off his career as a Managing Director of Aon Risk Services UK Plc, the worlds second biggest insurance broker. James sold his business and jumped the corporate ship in 2002 and together with his life partner Karen, indulged his passion for travel by aquiring the retail business of Meon Travel and establishing Meon Valley Travel and Meon Repats. His experience in the travel and medical emergency assistance world is encyclopaedic.
Favourite Destination: The Chedi, Oman
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Jon Smiles - General Manager e-Commerce
Jon joined Meon in 2007 bringing with him a huge wealth of knowledge and technology expertise to help engineer the future of Meon e-Commerce. After graduating in London, Jon enjoys a broad church of experience derived from pivotal roles at Trailfinders, American Express, Travelocity, Sabre and more recently through the governance of Advantage Travel Centres own tech panel. A huge asset to the company in streamlining business process, maximising efficiencies and pioneering cutting edge internet and web enabled technologies, Jon’s profound depth of expertise has been instrumental in the positioning of Meon Valley Business Travel at the forefront of corporate self booking tools and Travel Management efficiencies for our hard-charging national and international customer base.
Originally from the North East of England he’s a keen Middlesbrough fan, has frighteningly talented multi-lingual children (it must be in the genes!) and loves a pint! So whilst he may be brilliant at his job he has no taste in football!
Favourite Destination: Koh Samui, Thailand
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Karen Barnes - general manager
General Manager and all-round problem solver, Karen manages the operational aspects of all the Meon divisions and has been at the heart of the company since joining as a saturday girl in the retail shop for her father, the then finance director back in 1978. Personnel, technology and supplier relationships consume most of Karens time but she still enjoys impulsively diving off to explore the latest hot destinations at the drop of a hat. Karen has spent her life getting under the skin of the travel industry, understanding what makes things happen and how to create the unthinkable. Commercial savvy and a love for people and family mix to form a unique talent and an inspirational manager.
Favourite destination: Al Maha nature resort Dubai
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Angela Hallett - Leisure Manager
Angela lives near Petersfield with husband Peter. Having decided never to work in an office, Angela first set out to tour the World and got as far as Switzerland before feeling homesick! But the next two years were spent as cook/crew aboard a private yacht sailing all ports sunny before succumbing to real life and joining Meon Travel for seven years. Combining work and pleasure, Angela visited many countries including the Caribbean, Seychelles, Zambia, India and Nepal. After a break to raise her family, she set up the International Air operations for Naturetrek, specialising in expert-escorted wildlife holidays and tours, including Birdwatching and Botanical tours, Bear, Whale and Tiger watching holidays and a variety of wildlife-orientated treks, conservation tours and Expedition Cruises to some of the most spectacular regions on Earth. When life is an adventure, then the world is your back-yard!
Favourite destination: Bird Island, Seychelles “It was deserted, and all mine for a day. I could happily become lost there all over again”.
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Sheelagh Bazen - repatriations manager
With a huge wealth of experience running teams in the airline reservations sector, Sheelagh brings expansive knowlege and a vast catalogue of travel skills to the benefit of all around her. A great source of informed tried and trusted knowlege with an exceptional talent for drawing the best most professional performances from her team. Sheelagh is a rock upon which the foundations of integrity and professionalism continue to be built.
Favourite destination: Home with a fine wine
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Gerhard Krause - finance controller
Gerhard was both born and accountancy qualified in Orange Free State South Africa. He is responsible for the financial integrity of the company together with business reporting and account management. Gerhard infuses integrity and fiscal prudence in line with our industries demanding government regulation scrutiny and compliance. He loves getting out in the fresh air hiking and exploring, the more extreme the terrain the better. One of lifes genuine good guys, a dedicated family man and a new father, Gerhard keeps us all on the right track and ardently ensures firm control of good business practise.
Favourite destination: Saas Fe Switzerland
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Christine Lima - repatriations consultant
One of our latest repats recruits, Christine hails from Australia, still can't get used to water swirling the wrong way down the plug, loves being with people and lives the work hard play hard ethos. A typical Aussie adrenalin junkie, forever at work or in the gym and addicted to travel, christine has been rapidly adopted by the team as a caring and dedicated individual always willing to sacrifice her own needs for those of others. A brilliant team member.
Favourite destination: Khaosan Road Bangkok
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Mujde Sakarya - Specialist Leisure Consultant
Mujde hails from Turkey herself, she knows Europe like the back of her hand and can captivate with stories of East/West trade routes, the Hotels to enhance your trip and the sights to see - our very own ‘TravelSpice!’ The wealth of experience doesn’t stop there, Mujde has travelled extensively across the Middle and Far East whilst also gaining intimate first-hand knowledge of the Cruise market. Feisty and European, demanding of herself and others, her flair for languages and intelligent approach to travel sometimes distracts from an encyclopaedic insight into the most delicious destinations. Just having returned from Sri Lanka last month and the Caribbean this, her personal experience of some heart-stopping destinations is legend.
Favourite destination: Blue Waters, Antigua
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Kirsty McDonald - meon academy
With 12 years at Carllson Wagonlit culminating in managing the platinum team responsible for the personal travel for senior board members of the largest and most demanding multinationals, Kirsty understands all about attention to detail. Kirsty is responsible for training together with the systems and proceedures that accompany the increasing demands of managing and institutionally sharing knowledge. Greatly respected initially as a trouble shooter through all departments with the challenges that accompany exponential growth the word 'no' simply doesnt exist in her vocabulary and Kirsty is relentless in the pursuit of nurturing talent. Kirsty has been instrumental in the development of the meon knowledge bank.
Favourite destination: Moon Palace Cancun
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Faye Tosdevine - Leisure Consultant
Local Petersfield girl, Faye is new to the team and brings a bright, bubbly enthusiasm and infectiously inquisitive nature to the world and all it has to offer. Adept at digging out great bargains for the diverse needs and wants of the modern day family. Fayes’ intimate understanding of all you could want from that dream holiday is poised at the end of her fingertips through her scarily adept and natural flair for research, special friendships and relationships that she has built with our preferred suppliers and holiday operators, and incredible eye for a bargain. Look no further when you have checked on the ‘net’. Faye takes great delight in surprising the starch out of us all with her skill at beating the best for value!
Favourite destination: “There’s too much I’ve yet to see – don’t stop me now, but Florida has it so far!”
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Charlie Gutteridge - Leisure Consultant
Independent and totally committed to what it takes to be a brilliant travel agent, Charlie buries herself in caring for the intimate details of trip planning, demonstrating knowledge way beyond her tender years. Yet to travel at the end of this year on a ’round the world’ adventure to stop off in Australia for the Winter, Charlie offers customers the highest levels of personal service. This girl can tailor make every aspect of your trip to make a truly unforgettable experience. She has access to award winning technology allowing her to source the best agent deals including excursions, restaurants private transfers and tours no matter where in the world you travel. Charlie thrives on the challenge to go one step beyond as your personal concierge to arrange the tiny detail exactly how you want it. How could anything ever be dull when Charlie’s got the world at her finger tips!
Favourite destination: Tokyo
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Nicki Lahiri - Accounts
Our dear Nicki started her professional travel career as a saturday girl in the retail shop working her way through the ranks to ultimately taking charge as business travel manager. We lost her for a short while as she took time out to have Josh and Lottie, but now she is back and has taken a grip on the finances with the accounts team. Nicki knows the travel business inside out and exactly how to maximise efficiencies through effective supplier and systems management. Attention to detail is a prerequisite and just like our clients Nicki makes sure we pay our bills on time and extract every ounce of benefit from good business practice.
Favourite destination: Standing atop Sydney Harbour Bridge
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Sue Adams - Accounts
Our very own 'minister of mischief'. With 11 years experience in travel, accountancy and project management, Sue keeps everybody in line with chocolate, a surgical wit and an infectious sense of humour. Thoroughly professional and totally commited, no stone remains unturned in her mission to ensure total accurancy and effective financial controls. Sue has an instinct for people and a talent for systems, a rare and precious mix. A sheer joy to work with, its a privilege to have such an exceptional talent on the team.
Favourite destination: Jamaica, Diving
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Jude Wakefield - repatriations team leader
Jude, with over 10 years leisure and business travel experience joined meon repats in 2003 and quickly established a reputation as a thorough all rounder with an amazing knack for getting the most distant carriers to deliver client needs and emergency support under the most extreme and difficult circumstances. Jude comes in to her own in the toughest situations with an intuitive skill for containing crisis blended with common sense when sense is not always common. A comitted team player, driven and focused, Jude is one who leads by example and always delivers. Oh, and if there's a party... Jude's the one in the middle of the dance floor swinging her arms in the air.
Favourite destination: White Hart Lane
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Tom Whitehouse - Business Development (USA & Canada)
What a lovely man. Clever, charming, witty, knowledgeable and a serious specialist in the field of Travel, Insurance , Repatriation and front line delivery systems (IT to you and me). Tom enjoys a wealth of very dear contacts turned friendships earned over the years from delivering excellence and innovation consistently, intelligently, reliably and at great value to many in the Finance and insurance industries. We are thrilled to have been able to entice him onto the team to run our North American front line operations and cannot fault the tremendous value he has brought to the partnership.
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Olivia Ray - Repatriations Consultant
Fun, bubbly, vivacious and a good communicator. A real team player with a positive attitude to work. Olivia is customer focused, a natural born carer, and thrives in the friendly, independent and stimulating world of Repats. Always angling for more and always keen to push and push again to get that illusive seat when it’s really needed, Olivia is our very own stress-buster with a warm nature and the rare emotional intelligence to help relieve the pressures and stresses with the best, focused support.
Favourite Destination: Sharm el Sheik, Egypt – “Step off any jetty and you could be diving the great barrier reef”.
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Alex Rickards - Repatriations Consultant
She left us once and she can’t keep away! Alex enjoys extensive experience in leisure and medical emergency assistance specialist travel and we are thrilled that she loved us so much we were able to entice her back to support the rapid development we’re enjoying in Business Travel. Efficient, effective, to the point and on the ball. Alex has honed her myriad skills with a recent stint as a high flier in Lastminute.com where exceptional service is a way of life not just an aspiration. For best professional advice, pragmatism and delivery of results without compromise, no prisoners are taken.
A keen equestrian, Alex throws her competitive spirit into regular Eventing but doesn’t let this interfere with her love of adventure and regular travel with all that you can throw at living.
Favourite Destination: Sigiriya, Sri lanka. Google it…just see what you think!
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Claire - Admin and Data Management
Attention to detail bar none plus the capacity for picking up technology quicker than your regular teenager, Claire has a talent for surprising both us and our clients with information that proves we are actually good and we do know what we’re doing! A fundamental corner stone to our own self belief, proof is always in the data for any customer facing service industry and this takes focus and commitment together with common sense and competence. Over and above that she is great fun to have in the building and keeps us all well grounded. She’s just about to take her own first freefall parachute jump this summer, we’ll send the earplugs to the pilot now!
Favourite Destination: The Mall of America, Minneapolis, USA. Who on earth could think of building a shopping mall so big it has its own full scale theme park… indoors!
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Hiba
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Kas
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Lizzie
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