Nicola Balmain Email & Phone Number

California, United States

San Jose, Ca, Us

In 2015 having worked in the travel industry both in the US and UK for over 25 years, I decided to embark upon my own business venture creating unique international travel experiences. Nanda Journeys creates thematic trips to magnify a traveler’s passion whether that be sports, cooking, health and wellness, your career; if you have a passion and you have a network of like-minded global travelers who share you passion, Nanda Journeys can create an exclusive experience for you. What is so unique about a Nanda Journey? You will be immersed in the local community and culture of your chosen destination, and, while still experiencing the splendor of the local icons you will also participate in meaningful humanitarian service with the local community.Nanda means Joy in Sanskrit which I thought was very befitting for my new journey and that of my future clients. Please follow us on social #nandajourneys @nandajourneys www.nandajourneys.com Your support is welcomed and so appreciated!

Providence, Ri, Us

Was asked to cover the Head of Product, Club Adventures role for 6 month period to cover maternity leave. Working remotely, 20 hours per week, I was able to quickly assimilate to the team, the priorities, and jump in quickly to support some time sensitive projects to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction was maintained. Introduced several new product partnerships to help support product growth, creativity and meet COGS requirements. Developed new itineraries that were tailor made to specific client needs and supported the team with enhancing back office operations.

Spokane, Wa, Us

Executive Leadership role with responsibility for:- - Supply Chain Management – Management of COGS up to $75 million; vendor management for over 40 countries on 5 continents. Improved quality auditing and product review strategies leading to improved customer satisfaction, renegotiation of vendor contracts to support economic downturn pressures post 2007 – resulted in savings in excess of $5 million. - Health & Safety and Emergency Response – Lead the Health & Safety team whose primary role was to manage and improve processes that supported the successful and safe travel of our students and teachers. Introduced new policies to improve how we supported students with complex medical needs. Introduced subject matter experts to define policies for medical and nutritional support. Led the Emergency Response Team and acted as primary spokesperson/liaison oversees when serious incidents/accidents occurred. - Full P&L ownership for Citizen Ambassador Programs – this program line was reporting losses in excess of $3 million when I was appointed to manage the business in 2011. Within 1.5 years completely overhauled the sales and marketing strategy, OPEX spend and general day to day operation resulting in $500K profit. - Customer Insights Strategy and Leadership – implemented a Customer Insights team for the business focused on acquiring insights from our consumers at every point of their journey; post-enroll, pre-travel and post-travel. By focusing both on our promoters and detractors and interacting with them in a 1:1 relationship, we improved NPS scores from mid 50’s to mid 70’s in a 4 year period. Our NPS scores for all three programs lines currently stand at 75 which is above Apple (+67 iphone), Southwest (+62) and Amazon (+64), all whom are perceived by consumers as above best in class in their industry.

Spokane, Wa, Us

I joined People To People in 2007 upon returning to the US from the UK. I worked remotely from San Jose assuming responsibility for the Land Travel Services team. Having worked in the travel industry for almost 20 years upon joining People to People, I felt I had found my true calling. Working on a product that opened the minds of our youth and provided them with a tangible opportunity to experience the world was truly inspiring. I feel very strongly that as our world shrinks, global connections are increasingly important. It is critical that our youth and future leaders, experience the world and make connections to different cultures, enabling them to be successful and mindful global citizens.As the Senior Director I was responsible for- International vendor management- Product development for all international programs- Product quality and product deliveryKey achievements included- COGS improvement- Product quality improvement – significant focus on improving customer satisfaction for program delivery- Implementation of formal post season product review- Improved escalation process for incident and case management- Led operations team and acted as liaison during implementation of CRM software

Recruited to the position by Managing Director. BCT Travel Group was the specialist division of MyTravel Group with 3 distinctly different Tour Operator brands; Bridge, Cresta and Tradewinds. As a key member of the Executive Team returned the business to profit after a sustained period of losses. Achieved this by renegotiating supplier contracts and partnerships, overhauling pricing and product positioning and supporting the MD to overhaul SG&A costs.

Reported to VP of Commercial and had direct responsibility to create a yield management team with primary focus on improving yield and profitability of SunTrips charter tour operations to Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica. Collaborated with the North America HQ in Toronto, Canada on vendor contracting and management. Developed promotional campaigns for online and print media. Achievements: Led cost savings initiatives that resulted in over $2 million savings. Implemented new pricing strategies that led to yield improvements of over 10% in year 2. Mentored and developed a brand new team. Restructured Commercial department to improve efficiency in OPEX

P&L responsibility for seven Mediterranean destinations. Developed sales and marketing strategy, pricing strategy and ongoing yield management. Improved gross margins for my areas by 52% in 2000 compared with company average of 12%. Introduced a dedicated Cyprus brochure for retail trade which led to GM improvement of 70% for summer the 2000 travel season.

Recruited by Commercial Director to join the companies senior management development program. Successfully completed BPP training program covering such topics as Cost Analysis; Strategic Management; Pricing techniques; Investment Appraisal; Sales & Marketing.

Responsible for team of 3. Primary responsibility was to drive sales for third party aircraft brokerage & flight only sales. Contracted airline blocks from other charter operators for internal tour operator. Increased sales revenues by 15% in first year.

Progressed quickly from entry level reservation agent to customer services. Gained product knowledge for core destinations in Europe, South America, USA. Honed communication skills and became a key associate in the group for complex customer service issues.