Pata CEO in the hot seat
Pata ponders over its future and suffers more back biting, this time from Aussie board members.
Pacific Asia Travel Association’s powerful executive committee met, earlier today in Bangkok, to scrutinise details of a governance report that calls for a major restructuring of the association.
The association’s CEO and president, Greg Duffell, was expected to update the executive committee on progress with reference to streamlining financial reporting and the downgrading of a US office that was a conduit for dealing internal revenue service issues and official audits required under US federal law.The governance report recommends that the current 76-person board of directors be remodelled into a “policy council or “governors’ council” that will deal with tourism related issues on a broad scale.
It also recommends that the current executive committee be turned into a small manageable board to overseas association business.
Mr Duffell will meet the press this afternoon to outline his plans for the association.
SMALL WORLD: Current deputy commander of the Royal Thai Air Force Flying Academy, Nitat Sirimas (fourth from right, kneeling) was Greg Duffell’s class mate in Pilot Squadron 124. (second from right).
He will probably tell them the up-coming Pata Travel Mart is at least 20% below its sales target. He may also allude to his efforts to restructure the regional office setup and deal with divisive factions that are seeking to discredit his policies.
Known as down-to-earth travel industry executive, he brings to Pata management skills that were first honed during his flight officer training in the Royal Australian Air Force.
His military background caused a flurry of interest from Australian board members.
It is understood that at least one board member, resident in Australia, went on the attack, accusing Mr Duffell of wrongly claiming he had served in the Royal Australian Air Force.
His unsubstantiated claims were given credence by past and current high ranking officers in the association, some of whom had served on the CEO selection committee.
The rumour probably originated from disgruntled individuals who lost contracts, or saw their source of revenue from Pata diminish in recent months.
It served as an example of the pettiness that pervades the current board, where its members appear to be more interested in rumour mongering than restoring order to what is clearly a dysfunctional association.
TTR Weekly contacted Royal Thai Air Force deputy group commander of the Flight Training Academy, Nitat Sirimas, who confirmed he flew with Mr Duffell as part of Pilot Squadron 124 of the Royal Australian Air Force.
They served in the same squadron as part of an officers training programme that included pilot training.
The challenge for Mr Duffell is whether he can take the personal pot shots from down under firmly on the chin and still steer this largely crippled and ineffective association to a new more useful reincarnation.
That the executive committee spent so much time grilling the fly boy about his past when the membership is waiting for some real leadership illustrates a tragic organisation in need of a major makeover. Regime change clearly didn’t have any affect on the parochial mindset of so many board members, or are they simply bored members? That the CEO of a formerly respected association had to show tatty old log books and dog-eared photos of himself from his youth should be a warning sign. Rome is burning, but the fiddling is as cacophonic as ever.
Investigative reporters should be careful that they are in fact reporting the truth. The Australian Board Member of PATA did NOT question the fact that the CEO had served in the RAAF but that he in fact had nOT flown an F111 – and he hasn’t!!! Don Ross should ask the CEO to come clean on his life in the RAAF.It is very easy to get the real story – just ask RAAF head quarters – we did!
Isn’t it time PATA started serving its members instead of spending months talking about reinventing itself and also dealing with petty squabbles among board members about whether the new CEO can fly or not? The travel industry is in free fall, yet its supposed champion is navel gazing and conducting witch hunts. It is also becoming more and more a Thai-centric club, ignoring the dozens of countries in the region who pay their dues faithfully yet get zero benefit. The decapitation of last September may well be repeated as a ritual when the board meets this September. Who benefits? Not the members.
I find it interesting that this article contains several serious inaccuracies. Firstly, there is no 124 Squadron in the RAAF – refer http://www.airforce.gov.au/units/index.aspx. Perhaps this is actually meant to be Number 124 Pilot Training Course at 1FTS RAAF Base Point Cook – now known as 1RTU. Given the distinct sign in the photo showing 1FTS, the epaulettes of the cadet pilots showing no rank and the white nametags on the flying suits (as opposed to the black patch and wings emblem received when you actually have a rank), this does not prove graduation from 1FTS and the necessary progression to 2FTS RAAF Base Pearce to graduate as a Pilot Officer in the RAAF. Perhaps Mr Ross would like to contact RAAF Personnel who would readily and independently be able to confirm Mr Duffell’s claims to having qualified as a RAAF pilot. The RAAF would not take kindly to someone making claims beyond their actual achievements.