Natalie Campbell, chair of the Workforce Development Trust and chancellor of the University of Westminster since 2023, will address a fundamental question at Abta’s Travel Convention next month: “Who wants to work at a business where people think the leadership is pants?”
Campbell’s keynote on “Leadership in an Era of Rapid Transformation” will focus on how business leaders navigate uncertainty, build organizations, and support their teams as artificial intelligence reshapes work. Her message targets a real problem she has identified in travel and hospitality sectors: poor leadership undermines both employee experience and customer satisfaction.
The travel industry faces distinct leadership challenges. Unlike sectors where transactions dominate, travel is fundamentally people-centered. Campbell argues that “soft skills are not soft, especially in travel. It is a people business. How you get people to follow you, how you inspire people to come back and travel with you, is not technology-based.”
Navigating Uncertainty and Building Resilience
Campbell identifies “permacrisis” as the operating environment for today’s leaders. Personnel resilience has become essential, yet many leaders fail to prioritize their own development. She notes that small-business owners face particular pressure: “The biggest challenge for small-business owners is to upskill. They can’t fathom how to make the time.”
Visibility matters as much as competence. “Leaders need to be visible in their organisation, in their industry and among their peers,” Campbell emphasizes. She cautions against the tendency leaders have to hide during turbulent periods, when the opposite approach is more effective.
Campbell also stresses that curiosity, not compliance, drives organizational strength. “Organisations with curious people are generally far better than those with compliant people,” she says. She notes that European business leaders entering UK markets often bring more inquisitiveness than domestic counterparts, fundamentally changing how companies operate.
Rethinking Artificial Intelligence as a Leadership Tool
Campbell dismisses the hype surrounding AI as counterproductive. “The hype around AI is a hindrance,” she says, “it’s scary for people because it seems so big.” Yet she insists that understanding AI is no longer optional for leaders at any level.
“There isn’t a leader who can afford to say, ‘I’ll leave AI to the chief technology officer,'” Campbell argues. “Understanding AI is as important as understanding your brand or strategy, it is a tool available to drive change.” This perspective challenges leaders who have historically delegated emerging technology to specialized teams.
The relationship between automation and human capability requires careful balance. Campbell expresses significant concern about AI’s impact on jobs, particularly entry-level positions that traditionally developed future leaders. “If we lose that, in addition to losing graduate jobs, where does the pipeline for future leaders come from?” she asks. She observes that technology companies routinely replace workers with automation, “but just because you can replace a person, doesn’t mean you should. The smartest leaders will balance developing AI capabilities with keeping human resources.”
Campbell’s core thesis unites these elements: leadership quality determines whether organizations thrive or struggle in uncertain times. When employees believe their leaders are ineffective, the damage extends beyond morale to customer experience. In the travel sector, where personal connection and trust drive decisions, strong leadership becomes a competitive asset rather than an operational detail.
Her message to convention attendees will center on a practical challenge: making time for leadership development while managing immediate business demands. That tension, between urgent quarterly results and long-term organizational resilience, defines the transformation leaders must navigate.
Campbell’s keynote at Abta’s Travel Convention reflects broader recognition that leadership capability, not technology adoption alone, determines how organizations weather rapid change and maintain human-centered cultures in an AI era.
