Episode Guest:

Matt Callaghan is the Chief Operating Officer at easyJet Holidays, where he leads customer experience, operations, and long-term strategy. With a background spanning Deloitte, British Airways, and frontline leadership at Heathrow, Matt brings a rare blend of operational grit and strategic vision.

Episode Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

1:23 Why Matt Said Yes to My Duvet Flip

2:14 First Job at Next: Life Lessons from Retail

4:00 Why Students Should Get a Job While Studying

5:24 From No Plan to Deloitte Graduate Scheme

7:01 Taking the First Step Without a 5-Year Plan

8:20 What "All-In" Really Means

10:16 Work-Life Blend and Being Present

13:12 Failing Exams and Bouncing Back

14:43 What Working Hard Means to Matt

17:06 The Power of Curiosity — And Acting on It

18:59 Why Matt Left Deloitte for British Airways

21:00 Moving to London: Expectations vs. Reality

23:00 Feeling Stuck and Choosing to Pivot

24:57 Getting the Heathrow Operations Role Without Airline Experience

27:11 Falling in Love with Aviation

29:00 Why Matt Applied for a Job He Wasn’t Qualified For

30:45 From Terminal 5 to easyJet

32:11 A Global Role That Wasn’t Sustainable

33:02 Joining easyJet and Shaping Strategy

34:46 Building easyJet Holidays from the Ground Up

36:00 Why easyJet Holidays Is a Special Place to Work

37:43 Life Lesson: What Fostering Taught Matt About Leadership

40:18 Matt’s Duvet Flip: Creating Joy and Connection Through Travel

Episode Partners

📊 Compare the Market

Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

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Matt Callaghan, COO at easyJet Holidays: From 5,000 Hotels to 1 Million Customers

My Duvet Flip by Jack Parsons