A group of Australian SMEs have attended a Money Can’t Buy Workshop in Brisbane at Flight Centre’s Global Headquarters where they heard from industry experts as they look to take their businesses to the next level.
Conducted by Flight Centre Business Travel, ten representatives from across five lucky SMEs had won exclusive seats at the table among industry experts for the Money Can’t Buy Workshop.
Sessions over the intimate two-day workshop, delivered by business leaders from Flight Centre Travel Group, Virgin Australia and TFE Hotels, covered topics including emotional iIntelligence, people and culture, economic profitability and resilience, sustainability, marketing, and business resilience. Attendees also had a tour of Virgin Australia’s operations centre.
Flight Centre Business Travel’s global leader, Cameron Harris, said that they had a tremendous response to the opportunity to attend the workshop from SMEs around Australia.
“Now in its second year, our Money Can’t Buy Workshop participants were truly inspired and amazed at the takeaways they have which they can implement personally and take back to their businesses,” Mr Harris said.
“This workshop provided unique access to a range of business expertise that you wouldn’t be able to access anywhere else. We’d like to thank all the participants and speakers, who in turn provided so much from their own experiences and perspectives.
“This has become such a valuable resource and a key opportunity on the business calendar for SMEs. Demand will be high again in 2024.”
The 2023 workshop attendees were: Aurelia Havez and Jasmine Lee Williams (ICON Engineering); Justine Wells and Olivia Campbell (HealthX); Andrew Sidoti and Andre Elcham (Protech); Nathan Mills (EP Food Company / Birch & Waite Foods) and Emma Pastro (Birch & Waite Foods); and Robert Stanic and Joshua Gavenlock (Rovensa Next).
Workshop participant Justine Wells from HealthX said, “They’ve done a lot of work on emotional intelligence which has been a real eye opener for us. I’ve identified some things that we could do a lot better. It’s been really knowledgeable and engaging… It’s been a really great experience.”
“All the presenters were fantastic, and surprisingly candid – it was insightful and interesting,” said Nathan Mills from EP Food Company / Birch & Waite Foods.
Flight Centre Travel Group managing director and CEO, Graham Turner addresses workshop participants
Guest speakers included from Flight Centre – Brett Smith, corporate leadership specialist; Clinton Hearne, global head of marketing; Michelle Degenhardt, global sustainability officer; Sam van Gool, Peopleworks leader; from Virgin Australia – Damian Vezzoli, duty manager, integrated operations centre; Ben Inall, business resilience specialist; and from TFH Hotels – Brian Delaney, chief financial officer.
To be eligible to win a seat at the table, SMEs had to register their details with Flight Centre Business Travel, book a return Virgin Australia flight through Flight Centre Business Travel, and sign up to Virgin Australia’s Business Flyer program.
The Money Can’t Buy Workshop prize included:
A ticket to Flight Centre Business Travel’s two-day Money Can’t Buy Workshop at Flight Centre’s Global HQ in Brisbane
An all-access pass to new networks, mentors and guidance
Hosted lunch and drinks
Return Virgin Australia flights to Brisbane (from within Australia)
Return Brisbane airport transfers
One night’s accommodation.
