GAURAV LUTHRA
Managing Director - FCM Travel India
Delhi
Summary
A dynamic and accomplished Managing Director with an illustrious career in the travel industry, renowned for connecting visionary strategies to successful execution. With a distinguished history of spearheading and leading businesses to unparalleled success, I have consistently proven my prowess in corporate leadership and strategic innovation.
Throughout my career, I have been a driving force behind substantial financial growth, achieved through adept supplier negotiations, rigorous productivity enhancement, and optimal resource allocation. My commitment to nurturing client relationships has led to remarkable customer acquisition and retention rates, cementing my reputation as a thought leader in the industry.
One of my notable achievements has been the transformation of corporate travel operations through technological modernization. This thought leadership move not only resulted in exponential revenue growth but also ushered in a new era of operational efficiency. My entrepreneurial spirit has further shone as I successfully launched and financially steered new ventures, demonstrating a startup mentality and an innate ability to guide them away from potential losses.
My track record reflects not just leadership but a commitment to innovation, strategic vision, and a relentless pursuit of excellence in the travel industry.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Managing Director India
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
Delhi NCR
05.2022 - Current
- Responsible for overall India PNL, reporting to Managing Director of Asia, based in Singapore.
- Recreated and spearheading a high-performance commercial team of CXO's (SWOT team comprising of CFO, Sales Head, Operations Head, HR Head, Marketing and AM Leader & Technology Head)
- Delivered best ever / record profit in first year as MD. Played a significant role in transforming organization through technology adoption, modernization, and business redesign.
- Growth in Operating Margins through high degree of analytical adoption and culture of shared responsibility.
- Right sizing (WFR) and simplifying the India business from 6 business lines to 2 highly focused business lines, in line with global & regional strategy of the group.
- M&E Growth story - record TTV & Profit led to winning Most Profitable M&E Brand Globally Award at Flight Centre Global gathering (Chairman's Club)
- Actively engaged in group strategy to not only build a successful business in India but also establish it as a regional and global service hub. (COE)
- 2 times in a row Great Place to work Certification.
- Significantly contributed to turning around loss making units into profit making units within short period.
Chief Operating Officer
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd
Delhi NCR
10.2018 - 04.2022
- CXO team 0f 12 direct reports.
- Oversight and budgetary supervision for 17 Locations and 6 Different businesses with total people strength to 2200
- Businesses amassing to One Billion USD GMV (Corporate Travel Large and SME + Forex AdII licensed business + M&E + Inbound + Flight Shop Retail Travel)
- Survived and revived the organization during Covid-19 period by aligning objectives with company mission and work strategies.
- Made large-scale financial decisions around Digital Transformation to reduce material losses and maximize profits.
- Took hard but required downsizing (WFR) decisions to mitigate Covid-19 impact, within a span of 2 months achieved 60% cost reduction from various initiatives (Not just limited to people cost) realigned real estate and other business functions in line with cost cut yet keeping revival in mind.
- Effective and constant communication to mitigate minimal people impact, Instrumental in starting support groups organization wide for peer support during Covid-19 phase.
- Maintained constant relations with large strategic suppliers and their leadership to ensure quick outcomes during survival and revival phase.
Country Leader - Corporate Traveller (SME Brand)
Corporate Traveller & Supplier Portfolio
Delhi NCR
07.2016 - 10.2018
- Launch of Corporate Traveller brand that was India’s first branded proposition focused on travel needs of the rapidly growing SME Market. Early adopters to bring managed business travel space to unmanaged SME space.
- First Indian business to win Global Award for most improved business globally within first year of start in the Flight Centre family.
- Became most profitable and fastest growing vertical in the Indian business.
- Growth story of 200 customers to 1200 and from Inr 300 crore to 1000 crore GMV in 3 years of launch.
- Built high performance sales and operations structure which turned out to be extremely productive and rewarding, CT business continued to churn consistent YOY high margins and added significantly to bottom-line.
Vice President, Supplier and Industry Relations.
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. LTD.
Delhi NCR
04.2010 - 06.2016
- Envisaged the role technology was expected to play in corporate travel space & also identified importance of creating products & revenue lines beyond selling only Air.
- First to introduce technology in Corporate Travel Space in India, conceptualized, scoped, identified and worked with technology partner to develop the very first Corporate online booking tool. This tool became the market leader in the TMC space (Phoenix / Zillious) & resulted in single distribution platform for all internal 700 travel consultants.
- Seamless integration of Online tool with financial systems for auto postings, invoicing, PCI DSS, Payment Gateway's, self-service suite of MIS reports etc.
- Successfully created Car rental as corporate product line and brought this onto online platform including aggregation of various suppliers. Resulting in massive margin enhancement.
- Online Visa Tracking built into the OBT desktop tool for consultants & customers, bringing transparency and efficiency to 50000 visa applications processed annually.
- Implemented Hotel buying strategy on pan India basis, realizing far better gains. A journey from 100 room nights a month to 50000 room nights a month.
- Successful renegotiation of all Productivity linked contracts with airlines and maximized revenue by 28% and old collections of at least Inr 50 million.
Country Head – Flight Shop (B2C / Retail Tavel)
FCM Travel India (Flight Centre Retail Division)
Delhi NCR
07.2007 - 04.2010
- Launched brand new concept of Retail Leisure Travel Shops in India, way ahead of its time. Established Flight Shop business from scratch that included, hiring of staff and Building industry leading teams and established it as a brand.
- Built customer service culture & brought FS business to 400% growth at breakeven point within 2.5 years, first LOB to introduce Incentive & COS concept in remuneration at FCM India.
- Developed marketing strategy with ROI matrix that significantly reduced cost of customer acquisition, gained experience in Print media space buying / SEO/ SEM/ Digital/ BTL/ Radio / artwork & collateral conceptualization, website development.
- Interior fit out planning, telecommunication & IT infrastructure set up. Identifying, negotiating & leasing of shop premises and project execution with various partners including all vendor and supplier management.
Trainee to VP / Business Leader
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
Delhi NCR
08.1994 - 07.2007
- First to embrace Online technology to pioneer modernization within the TMC space in India, Integrated with Global Distribution Systems (GDS) to address air travel challenges and extended to other products, thereby enabled 600 employees to access a centralized technology tool.
- Created and managed project plans, timelines and budgets to Optimize customer experience and satisfaction.
- Evaluated & Mentored staff on organizational mission and goals to help employees achieve success.
- Cultivated positive relationships with vendors to deliver timely and cost-effective supply of services and materials.
Education
PGDM - International Marketing
AIIMA
Lodhi Road, New Delhi 01.1997 - 1997.12
Bachelor Of Arts - Retailing And Trade
Delhi University
College Of Vocational Studies 04.1992 - 1995.06
Skills
Setting Up New Businesses
undefinedAccomplishments
- Steered an audicious project focused on online strategy and an Internet booking engine, consolidating various products onto a single distribution platform for all internal 700 consultants
Additional Information
Seminars/Trainings/Workshops)
• Dale Carnegie / MBTI / HBDI assessments.
• Various GDS + Airlines trainings / seminars +Many Product and DMC seminars
• An on-the-job training experience for 15 days at Flight Centre Head office in Brisbane
Timeline
Managing Director India
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
05.2022 - Current
Chief Operating Officer
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd
10.2018 - 04.2022
Country Leader - Corporate Traveller (SME Brand)
Corporate Traveller & Supplier Portfolio
07.2016 - 10.2018
Vice President, Supplier and Industry Relations.
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. LTD.
04.2010 - 06.2016
Country Head – Flight Shop (B2C / Retail Tavel)
FCM Travel India (Flight Centre Retail Division)
07.2007 - 04.2010
PGDM - International Marketing
AIIMA
01.1997 - 1997.12
Trainee to VP / Business Leader
FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
08.1994 - 07.2007
Bachelor Of Arts - Retailing And Trade
Delhi University
04.1992 - 1995.06
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