NEW to his role as gm
of Amadeus Southern
Africa, Andy Hedley
believes it’s important to
think before you make a
decision, so that you don’t
just react but have a plan.
“The best advice you can
give anyone training a
sheepdog, is for every 10
minutes you spend in the
field training it, spend 20
minutes in the chair thinking
about how you’re going to do
it,” he says. This philosophy
is a principle Andy applies
to life.
He says in every job
he has had he spends
time “thinking, pondering,
working out and letting his
mind run”.
“If you get too down in the
trenches, you never get out
and you need to put your
head out and see what’s
going on in this world.”
Born in Dumfriesshire,
Scotland, in 1963, Andy’s
first job was as a sheep
farmer. Part of the reason
he started work as a farmer
was “basically to annoy my
father”, who had fixed ideas
about college and the type
of career one should follow.
“I always wanted to follow
my own path,” he says,
adding that he got a job as
a farmer by “pure chance”.
He had answered a phone
call meant for his brother –
who at the time had been
helping a friend who did
some work on a farm – and
eventually found himself
lugging a toolbox down to a
local farmer who needed a
hand to fix his tractor.
Andy asked the farmer
for a job, who obliged after
seeing his efforts with the
toolbox, and Andy remained
a farmer until he was 38.
In 2001, after the foot-andmouth
epidemic ravaged the
UK’s economy, Andy left and
went on to buy a seafood
restaurant in Florida.
At this time 9/11 had just
hit the US and Andy thought
there might be some
businesses to pick up. He
says he “hated, loathed,
detested it” but that the
experience of owning and
running a restaurant taught
him that you don’t have to
do something that you enjoy
doing, you can still get on
and do it.”
After a year he managed to
turn around the restaurant,
“leaving it as a far higher
end, well-run, profitable
establishment”.
He then went on to sell
European online booking
engines to the American
market.
He did this for seven years
before moving to Cape Town
(his second favourite place
in the world after Scotland)
and working for Travelstart.
A new challenge
Andy sees a problem as a
challenge, knowing there
must be a way around it.
The reason he decided
to work at Amadeus was
because he needed a new
challenge, he says. While
being interviewed for the
job of gm he was asked to
explain his process as an
innovator.
At the time Andy says he
wouldn’t describe himself
as an innovator. He says
he doesn’t “try to dream
up things from a blank
sheet” but would rather take
something that wasn’t done
too well and then make it
work.
After five years as head
of technical business at
Travelstart, Andy developed
a reputation as a “disrupter
or trouble-maker”. He says
disruption is not a bad thing
and that essentially it is
about moving forward.
He says he takes
“calculated risks” and
approaches all aspects
of his life “with his eyes
open”. He used to be
an avid fox-hunter and
describes the thrill of
picking up the scent of a
fox. “You didn’t know where
it was going, you just went
where the fox went.”
Andy says technology suits
him as it’s always on the
move and in travel, you’ve
got to keep thinking out the
box to get anywhere.
As gm of Amadeus he says
his vision for the company
is to get more customerfocused
and that being from
the TMC side he is not blind
as to where the weaknesses
in Amadeus are.
He says at Amadeus they
are “waking-up”. “Too many
GDSs have a tendency
to be inward-looking and
we’re looking outward and
forward.”
Getting to know Andy:
When asked what is
the biggest lesson he’s
learned as an adult, Andy
says: “Take responsibility
because if you take
responsibility you’re more
inclined to do something
about it.”
Andy’s favourite band is
Queen.
He relaxes by cooking.
He describes himself as
loyal and someone who
has integrity. “I know
I’m bright – everyone’s
always been telling me
that.” He says that he
can also be
quite sarcastic.
His favourite author is
Terry Pratchett.
Andy used to be a
serious dog-trainer and
has had 992 dogs in
his life. He now has a
ridgeback and Bernese
mountain dog.
“I like adrenalin,” he
says. Some of his
hobbies included whitewater
kayaking, show
jumping, bodyboarding
and fox hunting.
Andy owns a 1200 cc
Ducati Diavel he calls
Daisy .
