In the green room at Phocuswright with... William Phillipson

William Phillipson, former co-founder & COO, SilverRail Technologies

The co-founder and visionary behind SilverRail Technologies, William Phillipson is a problem solver and solution designer who has been at the forefront of solving some of the travel industry's toughest challenges in passenger rail, airlines and dynamic packaging.

In a series of interviews with executives participating at the event in Florida in November, PhocusWire finds out what makes them tick...

You're explaining the industry to a new employee - complete the sentence: "Beware of the ..."

Beware of becoming an insider. You can tell a travel insider compared to a "civilian" because they adopt the acronyms and talk in the rules of the industry. "Fly from NTC to FLL via IAD with an MTC of 45 minutes!" As soon as you become an insider, you need to struggle to not lose the perspective of a regular traveler - the complexity and frustrations.

Otherwise, you end up building solutions for industry people, not the public. Recognize this, and stay grounded!

What is the most critical component of your business (apart from its people, technology, and customers)?

Imagination. You cannot do anything new or useful without imagination. Whether it's imagining doing something slightly better to grand dreams of doing things completely differently, you need to have a vision.

What assumption about travelers have you found not to be true?

That travelers can use the tools available from their suppliers. For example, I'm amazed at how many travelers don't have their airline's app on their phone; don't know from what gate they're departing or if their flight is on time. It tells me that the ecosystem we have is still too complicated and difficult for the ordinary public to understand.

Who is the person you most admire within your company?

Actually, it's the team that has stuck with me for 10 years at this company, and many of them who worked with me before. It's truly humbling to realize that you've worked with people for over 15 years across four companies and they've based their careers, livelihood and futures on their trust in you.

What can be done to make the travel industry more diverse in terms of race and gender in senior positions?

It's a choice, I think. Work with your HR team and recruiters; market your company as one where diversity is valued; make the extra effort to find people who are exceptional - and diverse. A company cannot be considered diverse without a diverse senior management team, so, it’s critical that the executive team (and board) be gender, racially and culturally diverse to set the precedent for the team to follow, creating an environment where diversity is a fact and the focus is on professional excellence.

I’ve struggled with diversity over my professional career - in particular, the difference between diversity and equality. In the end, I’ve had to accept overall diversity and balance while accepting smaller discrepancies on specific teams. For example, it can be hard to hire equal numbers of male and female software engineers; however, across a broader product delivery team, it may be possible to come closer to a balance. What is important is that compensation, responsibility, and opportunities are equitable across everyone.

What do you consider to be the best important invention in the digital world in the last 20 years?

Definitely the smartphone. (The World Wide Web predates the 20-year threshold!) It's made digital mobile; it's untethered people from their homes and offices, changing the way we work, communicate and socialize.

How do you stay inspired?

As far as we've come, we have so far to go. It's astounding how badly and frequently businesses continue to fail in delivering good customer service. Each fail is an opportunity to innovate and deliver something impactful. Figuring out ways that I could solve a problem - large or small - is what inspires me and keeps me going.

What's the most important thing the industry needs to do in regards to sustainability?

We need a call to arms; a rallying cry. There are amazingly smart and creative people in the broader travel and logistics industries. We can solve many - if not all - of the contributing problems to the environment and sustainability.

Almost 60 years ago, JFK challenged the United States to do the impossible, to put a person on the moon. Countless unsolvable problems were solved to make it happen. Global warming and sustainability may seem unsolvable now - but if we put our minds to it, we can find ways to keep the globe traveling while reducing the impact - if not reversing the impact to the environment.

In a team environment, what role do you usually take on?

I like to think of myself as a facilitator - making sure the team has what it needs to get their work done - whether that means ensuring there’s coffee in the pot or that everyone’s inspired; making sure that everyone understands what we're doing and are on the same page with respect to the end goal.

What's one thing you're better at (professionally or otherwise) than anyone else?

I'm a systems guy - I can wrap my head around very complex systems; how the various parts connect and communicate; and can then break them down and explain them to technical and non-technical people so they understand what they need to understand to get their jobs done.

How much of your time do you try to keep unscheduled?

I've learned over the past few years that I'm the type of person that "thinks on my feet" when I'm engaged in a discussion. So I'm more efficient and work better when actively involved rather than sitting on my own thinking. I try to keep my workday fully scheduled whenever possible.