At 39 years of age Jonathan Carroll is already an established world
leader in the travel industry. He is a world leader in world and
domestic travel. That is a broad statement, but read on and you will
agree with me.
Not only is travel in his blood, it’s in his genes. His father Edward
was an executive with Sunquest Vacations. At age 17 Jonathan joined
Sunquest and quickly became regional sales manager. He could see that
travellers were moving away from booking with travel agencies, choosing
instead to book their travel direct over the phone.
In 1994, at age 23, he and his best friend Jeffery MacKenzie decided to
found a travel company capitalizing on this shift in consumer
preference. They named their new company itravel2000.
Why such an unusual name?
“Dick, we wanted a name that reflected a fresh new approach to the
travel business. We hired the best people possible to book travel over
the phone and dedicated ourselves to offering the best service possible.”
Their big leap forward came when the wonderful World Wide Web made it
possible for anyone, anywhere, anytime to book travel with them.
From the very beginning in 1994, advertising and marketing played an
important part in the company’s phenomenal growth. Jonathan’s voice
became well known as company spokesman.
Their staff of 200 operates from a 32,000 square foot headquarters in
Mississauga, Ontario, where sales this year will top $250 million.
In October 2006, when Jonathan was 37, itravel2000 was sold to a British
travel company for $51.5 million. Under the terms of the sale Jonathan
remains as president.
I asked him if this same kind of success is still available. He replied:
“Oh yes, with a positive attitude you can achieve whatever you want.
You require an idea and the right team of people committed to offering
good service. And you must be willing to work for it.”
He has received many awards, including recognition as one of Canada’s
top 40 under 40 executives and a Canadian Achiever.
Learn more about Jonathon Carroll at
www.canadianachievers.com.
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