TRISH SHEPHERD

TRISH Shepherd is no shrinking violet. With the ability to fill any room with a hearty laugh and a broad smile, she’s quite the opposite. But as the driving force behind Ensemble’s newly formed Australia and New Zealand division, she knows a thing or two about the travel industry, and she’s got big plans for the future. First stepping into the industry with American Express at the age of 17, Shepherd progressed through the ranks from the foreign exchange department to travel administration, co-ordinating manager for the franchise business and finally regional director of franchise and alliances during her impressive 27 year stint with the company. Unsurprisingly for a tenure spanning almost three decades, it wasn’t all smooth sailing and in 1992 AMEX made her role redundant when she felt her time wasn’t up. Shepherd remembers being devastated at the time, but instead earned a degree in commerce at the University of Wollongong. She also became a mother to identical twin boys, but life quickly returned to the fast lane when a position opened up and she stepped into the role as manager of AMEX’S franchise network when the boys were just 10 weeks old. Delighted to be back in the company, she poured all of her energy into building the franchise business with strategic alliances and crafty marketing. Shepherd also headed up a nationwide expansion with 65 new offices in one year, signed new partners and rolled out a program in Japan. But after AMEX formed an alliance with Travelscene and the company took a new direction, she decided to take a step back from corporate life in 2007 to be with her family and spend more time with her son who was seriously ill. “I was ready to go at that time... There was a lot of change and far too many owners. But it was also a great time for me; I climbed Macchu Picchu, spent a lot of time with my family and started the first discussions about Ensemble,” she recalls. After her son had made a full recovery, Shepherd was ready for a new venture and planted the seed for the launch of Ensemble

I used to get a message from kids saying ‘mum we’re going away this weekend and your laptop invited’’ and phone are not

in Australia with her colleagues in the US. But the GFC quickly doused the chances of success and instead Shepherd picked up consulting work and began mentoring young entrepreneurs. After several years out of the industry, Shepherd bumped shoulders with old colleagues at an event for one of her mentorees and immediately the buzz for the travel industry returned. Quickly planting her feet back in the industry, Shepherd reignited plans to launch Ensemble in Australia when the timing finally fell into place. Teaming up with an old colleague, she flew to Toronto to meet with Ensemble’s North American board in 2014 and quickly received unanimous support to expand in Australia/nz. Things moved quickly from there and no time was wasted in setting up a small office in Sydney with the view of launching in full in the first quarter of 2015. “AMEX was so structured that it was hard to make headway at times, but I’m now in a company that only focuses on risk and goals which is extremely exciting,” she says. As Shepherd explains, the company will operate much like Ensemble in the US but also have an in-house ticketing program. But size will not be an immediate focus, instead a trigger for other stages of the business to be rolled out. Explaining the plan in more detail, Shepherd says quality will be a strong focus for the group which will work like a partnership cooperative and only target agents who are willing to drive the business forward. She’s clearly confident Ensemble will make waves in the Australian market, but Shepherd is not out to step on the toes of its competitors: “We’re not out to undercut the big guys - we’re happy to sit under them. There’s room for another type of business with a rich value proposition other than Flight Centre and Helloworld.” No stranger to the realities of the travel business, Shepherd is well aware of the challenges. But with three decades of industry experience behind her, she’s got the skills and ambition to make it happen. And with three kids almost out of school, she’s keen to pour every ounce of her energy into her success. “Work-life balance doesn’t come naturally to me… I used to get a message from my kids saying ‘mum we’re going away this weekend and your laptop and phone are not invited’,” she recalls. But while her balance may swing a little to one side, it’s clear that she has a rock solid relationship with her family who, she says, has kept her grounded over the years. “You can never take yourself too seriously. Sure, you have to work hard, but you have to have compassion and be able to take a step back and laugh,” she says. Shepherd believes inspirational people are the key to her success and says working alongside a mentor is the best way to build skills and knowledge from others.