DONNA MEADS-BARLOW

DONNA Meads-barlow doesn’t take challenges lightly. And throughout her 35 year career in the travel industry, she never has. Making her way into the workforce in the late 70s with Rural Bank – which then housed an impressive travel division – she side-stepped naysayers who said her dream gig was out of reach, going straight to management to secure a career in travel. After being told by HR that women work as bank tellers and then go on to have children, she acted swiftly: “I had set my sights on travel and had no intention of having babies any time soon, so I quit. My parents completely flipped … that was just not what you did back in the 70s.” But the decision only sharpened her desire to get into the travel industry which came in the form of a junior role with Eastwood Travel after knocking on agency doors. After learning the ropes on the job and completing a tourism course at TAFE, Meads-barlow quickly discovered that the best way to wrap her head around the industry was to gain first hand experience, so she packed it in to travel around Europe for 18 months. The trip was a game changer for MeadsBarlow that opened her eyes to the travel industry – and taught her a thing or two about penny pinching. “I stayed in graveyards and bus shelters to save all my money so I could see as much of Europe as possible. I never wanted the trip to end,” she recalls. After several months of roughing it, she landed a job with the Australian International Travel Centre in London and went on to clock up an impressive CV encompassing roles with Adventure World, Cathay’s ticket office and Lane Cove Travel before being head hunted to manage Burns Philp Eastwood back in Australia. After the agency sold out to Jetset in 1986, Meads-barlow saw the writing on the wall and insisted that the owners buy her out to save her opening up shop next door. Within 12 months she bought a 51% stake of the business and re-branded as Donna Barlow Travel (DBT) in 1987. The first day in the manager’s seat has been etched in Meads-barlow’s memory: “One of the senior employees told me she was only willing to work from 10am-3pm, and I said ‘sweetheart that’s not going to work for me. Unless you’re prepared to work a full day and help me take the business forward, pack your bags’. I was shaking like a leaf on the inside but I knew if I gave in I would get trampled.” While she remembers it as an eye opener, Meads-barlow has taken staffing issues in her stride and applied the same vigour in her management style over the years. “You’ve got to be strong but you’ve also got to be a psychologist, friend, mentor and keep staff at arm’s length. That’s probably one of the hardest and most valuable lessons I’ve learned in management,” she says. But business development could never prepare Meads-barlow for the devastating loss of her 17-year-old daughter Danii to

You’ve got to be strong but you’ve also got to be a psychologist, friend, mentor and keep staff at arm’s length

Type 1 Diabetes complications in late 2011. Danii’s passing is still fresh in the minds of the Meads-barlow family and while the grieving process will never end, she has poured every ounce of energy into prevention with the formation of the Danii Foundation. Dedicated to introducing life saving technology to prevent diabetes emergencies, the foundation has raised over $1 million in the past two years and is now delivering technology in trial phase to families across Australia. The foundation also heads up the annual Jellybean Cruise which aims to promote awareness among young families and diabetics, in addition to the annual Jelly Bean Ball each year in June. “I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I have and I’ve often questioned why this has happened to me. Many of my colleagues have said it’s because I’m strong and can make a difference. I don’t know about that, but I do feel fortunate to have so many amazing colleagues within the industry,” she says. Whether it’s a coping mechanism or Meads-barlow’s tireless work ethic, she has regained momentum with a strong focus on growth across her three businesses Cruisescene, DBT and the Danii Foundation – albeit with a different outlook on life. But her passion for the industry has not wavered and she is constantly on the lookout for new avenues to help agents improve their skills and advance their careers within the industry. With three thriving firms under her belt, Meads-barlow is clearly an accomplished businesswoman who’s not afraid to make big decisions, but she attributes much of her success to setting boundaries early in the game - such as service standards and how proposals should be delivered. Meads-barlow admits that she accepts nothing but the best, but certainly, compassion underpins everything she does. “If people remember that we are all equal and everyone is touchable, it keeps us honest and humane. At the end of the day we have to be genuinely interested in our peers and work together for better outcomes.”