Managing Director of Webjet John Guscic Selected for Inclusion in The CEO Magazine

Becoming a world-class player in online travel and hospitality John Guscic speaks with The CEO Magazine on Webjet’s success

by Paris Brooks

(WireNews+Co) - Sydney, Australia - 11 March 2013

Managing Director of Webjet John Guscic was originally a supplier to the company before taking the top office in February 2011. “Around 10 years ago, Webjet founder David Clarke was looking for some seed capital to build out a booking engine,” he explains, “so we invested in the business and that was quite successful. Over a period of time, David asked me if I would stay on the board at the end of that investment period, so I did. I’ve had direct involvement as a board member for about eight years, and before that I was a board observer, so I’ve been involved with the business for about 10 years.  

“Even when I was living in Japan and the UK, I used to Skype into board meetings. Unfortunately, the time zone wasn’t particularly favourable for me in the UK because they used to commence at 11.30 at night, but it was great to be part of what was a phenomenal story, so the time challenges were worth it. Towards the end of David’s tenure, he asked me if I would be interested in being his successor when he retired, and that is what brought me back to Australia. So we’ve had a long involvement over that period of time.”

Under John’s guidance, Webjet has enjoyed continuing growth, expanding into various global regions and reporting some of its best financial results on record. “Our recently reported total transactional value was up 30 per cent, our net profit before tax was up 25 per cent, and our net profit after tax was up 24 per cent,” John notes.

“We were delighted with the results, but they’re not a one-off; we’ve been a remarkably consistent business that has grown organically for the past 10 years. We’ve had 17 consecutive halves of sales growth, and we’ve had seven consecutive halves of profit growth across the organisation—both of which suggest that it’s possible for an Australian-based organisation to start from scratch and not rely on mergers and acquisitions to get things done.”

Read the full story here (http://www.theceomagazine.com.au/profiles/Webjet/JohnGuscic.pdf).

The CEO Magazine is Australia’s leading business magazine focused directly at high-level executives. The CEO Magazine is of unrivalled quality and has a hugely-influential readership of Australia's top business professionals. The CEO Magazine can be seen in every Virgin and Qantas Business Lounge across Australia as well as all Hilton and Starwood executive suites nationwide. The CEO Magazine also holds Australia's most prestigious awards night for high-level executives, the annual, Executive of the Year Awards. To find out more about The CEO Magazine go to http://www.TheCEOMagazine.com.au (http://www.theceomagazine.com.au).