Background |
People | Contact us
BACKGROUND
- Auctionair came out of an experimental
project for British Airways in 2001, aiming to provide entertainment and retail
opportunities to passengers whilst in flight.
- After various new trials throughout
2002 the business was launched in July 2003.
- Auctionair has now established
a new kind of marketplace, bringing together a special sort of customer with carefully
selected suppliers; facilitated by innovative media owners.
- Auctionair gains customers in
the same way as a direct mail business, by building a base of customers who become
regular buyers.
- The company enjoys over 40%
repeat business from its customers and has already carried out nearly half a million
profitable transactions with them.
- Auctionair is EIS registered
and funded by private investors.
PEOPLE
Who are the directors?
Albert Scardino (Chairman)
Albert, a journalist and media investor, has worked in
news and newspapers from linotype to new media. His journalism has been part of
The New York Times, The Guardian, Oxford Analytica, the BBC and Sky News. He was
a founder and the editor of a group of weeklies in the US where he won a Pulitzer
Prize. He has taught and lectured widely on journalism, media and politics. He served
as Press Secretary to the Mayor of New York and as an adviser to the chairman of
the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the charity world, he has been active
in the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Institute for Philanthropy and a number of
educational institutions. He has chaired Auctionair since its launch.
Duncan Hilleary (Chief Executive)
Prior to launching Auctionair, Duncan had spent 15 years
in the in-flight media business. He founded Spafax Airline Network in 1985 and was
the Chief Executive until 1998. He expanded the company to serve 40 airlines from
6 offices around the world, achieving an annual billing turnover of US$100m. Duncan
left Spafax after selling his shareholding in the company. The company is now owned
by WPP.
Adrian Cox (Non-executive
Director)
Adrian was until recently Executive President and General
Manager of Ask.com Europe. He joined Auctionair as a non-executive director in 2006.
Before joining Ask Jeeves as it was then known, Adrian held executive marketing
positions at Cadbury Schweppes and St Ivel. Ask.com is now a division of IAC Search
& Media.
Neil Worgan (Non-executive Director)
Neil is the Managing Director of the Sure Group, a marketing
services and advertising group of companies based in London. He is also the Chairman
of Paradise Music a music label and distributor with offices in Hertfordshire and
Florida and a Non Executive Director of Marlin Cars. He was Finance Director and
then Chief Executive of Aspen Communications PLC from 1991 to 1996. Neil is a qualified
lawyer and Chartered Accountant and has been with Auctionair since launch.
Andrew McRae (Non-executive
Director)
Andrew McRae, A.C.A. is Managing Director, International
for Hays PLC, the UK, publicly quoted, specialist recruitment company and has responsibility
for all of Hays’ businesses outside of the UK & Ireland. Andy has more than twenty
years of international business experience, much spent within the support services
sector. A qualified UK Chartered Accountant, prior to assuming senior general management
roles, Andy held a number of senior financial positions in the UK. In 1999, Andy
led the public-to-private management buy-out of Coutts Consulting Group with backing
from 3i. Having acquired the business for some £40 million, the company was sold
to a leading US competitor in January 2002 for more than £70 million. He joined
Auctionair in March 2004.
Antonio Soler (Non Executive
Director)
Antonio Soler joined the board in June 2007. With degrees
from Harvard College and INSEAD, he has worked in finance as an M&A specialist at
Merrill Lynch and in technology as a co-founder of Skillvest Ltd., a software company
he helped grow, shrink and then sell during dotcom 1. He was later named as a Global
Strategist in the office of the Chairman of Samsung in South Korea. He currently
sits as a Non-Executive on four company boards, including technology companies in
France and the UK.
Who are the management team?
Alec Shaw Stewart (Director of e-Commerce)
Alec is a software, IT and web development professional.
Between 1985 and 1996 he worked as a analyst-programmer for Rolls Royce PLC, Morgan
Grenfell, BP, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Raytheon Group. In 1996 he worked for Venus
Internet for 2 years before branching out as an independent web developer in 1998.
Alec built the original Auctionair web site and is responsible for e-business and
online marketing and has been with the company since 2001.
Natasha Rawlings (Director of Marketing)
Natasha joined Auctionair in January 2007. Prior to this
she spent 2 years as Senior Relationship Marketing Manager for News International
in London. She started out in direct marketing in Australia working for 2 years
at Zurich Australian Life, 3 years with The Australian Institute of Directors, 3
years with Harlequin Mills & Boon and 5 years with International Masters Publishers.
Natasha holds a bachelor of business degree from The University of Technology, Sydney.
Phil Kempson (Customer Relationship
Manager)
Phil was a dedicated call centre manager who joined from
Vodafone before the first auction in 2001. Prior to Vodafone, Phil had spent three
years as Customer Service Manager and later Operations Manager for the recruitment
company Reed Direct. Before joining Reed, he had spent 3 years in customer service
with Comtel, initially in Leeds and subsequently in Oxford. Phil holds an engineering
degree from the University of Leeds.
Helen Monteith (Retail and Procurement Manager)
Helen is a writer, journalist and travel specialist, with a background
in communications, business development and project management both in South Africa and New Zealand
as well as the UK. Helen has a BSc (Hons) in Politics from the University of Bristol and a MA from
the University of Westminster in Journalism and Media Studies. Helen joined the company in 2003.
Jill Crawley (Customer services Manager)
Jill joined the company at its inception from Sitel UK
where she had been Telemarketing Supervisor for 3 years. Jill has either personally
completed or overseen the sale of all 6,000 winning bids that have been made, including
managing all fulfillment for each winning customer. As a result she knows many key
customers well.
you may:
1.
Post
mail to us at:
Auctionair Ltd
The Stables
Chadshunt
Kineton
Warwickshire
CV35 0EQ
2.
Phone us on: +44 (0)1926 642 340
* Please note that calls may be recorded
for quality purposes
3.
e-mail us on:
auctioncontact@auction-air.co.uk
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