The Mole has a chat with recently appointed CEO P&O Australia Ann Sherry

With Ann Sherry, [pictured right speaking at the recent Pacific Dawn launch in Sydney] joining P&O from a very scenario role with Westpac, The Mole kicked off this very interesting interview with Ann by asking her: –

The Mole: What have you found to be the main differences between banking and cruising?

Ann Sherry:  “At the end of the day, the customers are similar with all customers very demanding, but one area where I think there is a difference is that in banking the segmentation is really good and I do not believe that we so good at that in travel.”

“In terms of leadership, leading people is leading people and one of the great advantages in this industry is that is that the people love the industry and we take that for granted to an extent.” 

“Yes, for me the industry is new and understanding the dynamics is important, but it is no more regulated than banking, but the bow line dropping and that inventory being dead from that point on is new to me, so there are differences, yet there are similarities.”

“Globally we are still a small market and I guess that the things that I am applying from my experience in this new role are that I know the markets, I understand how people buy and I know how the segments buy”.

“I believe that the application of segmentation will be critical and we have to understand all our segments.  In Aus we have more disposable income and are more likely to travel and looking for broader experiences, in particular in relation to the premium brands”.

“We have set of global brands and offerings at different ends of the market, with P&O at the affordable family market end and Princess aimed at the premium market, pitching itineraries around Aus and Asia that are longer and with a higher touch.”

“Right at the top end, we have looked at products like Orion and True North and perhaps Seabourne is where we go next in Australia, because we believe that there is demand for high touch smaller vessels in the market and Seabourne is coming here on one of its current itineraries in 09/10, so we shall be able to assess demand for that product in this market”.

“One of the things I have become aware of in this industry is the much longer lead times and if we look globally at our fleet and want to bring some of those to Australia, then we need to convince the people at the top that we can operate ships sufficiently profitably compared to other lcoations, to justify those vessels, but I stress that the Australian business profitable and growth double to that of international.”

The Mole:  Has P&O had been able to put the Brimble affair behind the company?

Ann Sherry:  “I think organisationally we have taken lot of learning out of it and it will stay with us for ever…..you can never really put it behind you – you can never forget.”

“In a public sense, we are keen to continue to restore our brand equity as good, safe holiday fun and that will take some time, and as I say it is not all behind us as it takes time and some if it you can never let go of.”

“What we have done is implement processes to prevent a similar occurrence happening again, including on the Pacific Dawn there are 500 cameras, – the more footage we have the better, so we can always see what is going on and along with that and a host of other processes in place, including increased security and training, we are now managing the risk .”

The Mole:  What about the US control of P&O, with senior jobs having been shifted to the USA?

Ann Sherry:  “Yes, in terms of the organisation P&O was becoming very US centric, but my arrival has changed that and I have shifted that management focus, the senior roles and decision making back to Australia and as you know I have made some senior local appointments recently.”

The Mole:  P&O is recognised for always sending Australia old, well used ships and the deployment of Regal Princess now called Pacific Dawn is perhaps a further example questioning Carnival’s commitment to Australia – so why aren’t newer vessels allocated to P&O?

Ann Sherry:  “There is logic to the way vessels are allocated and P&O in Australia has not really demonstrated the growth and demand to justify new vessels and once we do that, we have the potential to get new vessels.”  

“We are testing the market with older ships and then if successful and in competition with other parts of the business, we could get better and newer ship over time, especially with the company having committed to a whole lot of new builds.”

The Mole:  P&O’s traditional Australian cruise market, is very different to other global cruise markets with the reputation of fun, booze and sex engrained in the Aussie cruise culture. 

Are you changing that for the core market or changing markets and how and if you are not delivering that, will P&O lose that core market and does the company want to lose them in any case?

Ann Sherry:  “There is a different price point between P&O and Princess and we are stretching the P&O produce upwards, while still offering very affordable cruises for families, with Princess coming in at a level above that.”   

“The Dawn Princess is based in Sydney all year round and we are testing Melbourne and Freemantle and seeing how they goes and then we will allocate further capacity.”

“We also have to recognise that P&O is one of the very few holidays that you can get three generations of a family on one shop, providing a great holiday for all of them.”

The Mole:  The Regal Princess, aka Pacific Dawn [pictured left leaving the shipyard in Singapore before delivery to Sydney] was built in 1991 and has a reputation for having run aground all over the world, described as unmanoeuvrable due to her design – twin propellers but only one rudder. 

She ran aground in Cairns in 2002 and AMSA describe her as unsuitable for Cairns, where I am told she is technically banned as a result and also has to have heaps of tugs for other locations.

Is she really a suitable vessel for Australia or did P&O say we are tired of her elsewhere, so we will send her to Aus?

Ann Sherry:   “We are making modifications to all our ships that go to the reef and the Pacific Dawn will go to the reef and we will do what it takes to ensure that she is fully compliant in every way.”

The Mole:  So what does the future hold for P&O’s business in Australia?

Ann Sherry:   “The way you get people to cruise is word of mouth, getting people to speak positively about their experiences and we are workign hard on that.”

“We also need to get on the front foot and fix the brand and we also need to give people a visual insight.”  “Also, when people get on board, the vessel feels bigger and feels good – we need to work on the touch and feel.”

“Loads of people have come to me and said that I am now going to go on a cruise holiday.”

“We also need to get travel agents to better understand our current and new product and that will be a job of shifting perception and shifting the public’s views of what we offer.”

The Mole:  Thank you Ann.

A Special The Mole face to face interview with Ann Sherry, recently appointed CEO of P&O Australia.