Envoyage\u2019s support of the TIME Mentoring program builds on a business model that has, since its earliest days, been built around giving women in travel the flexibility to build careers on their own terms.<\/strong><\/p>\n Astrid Richardson, global general manager of Envoyage, FCTG\u2019s worldwide independent division and a past Women in Travel Awards<\/a> Mentor of the Year winner (2017), says that legacy remains central to how the network operates today.<\/p>\n Talking to Travel Weekly<\/em> in a break at Envoyage\u2019s Summit 2026 in Cairns, held under the theme \u201cRise\u201d, Richardson pointed to the South African business, whose general manager, Chantel Gouws, was Envoyage\u2019s very first independent contractor.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019d had her baby and didn\u2019t want to go into a shop anymore,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cShe created it, and then, of course, slowly grew that business.\u201d<\/p>\n The South African operation has since grown to around 300 advisors.<\/p>\n Richardson traced a similar story to Envoyage\u2019s own Australian origins. The business began with the 2017 acquisition of Travel Partners, founded by Jeff Hakeem, in response to women leaving the industry.<\/p>\n It was a model he later extended to New Zealand through Travel Managers and it is now part of the Flight Centre Travel Group under its female-led Luxury and Independent Brands as Richardson and her colleague, director of operations Lisa Zahra, report to the division\u2019s global managing director, Danielle Galloway.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core of it is that, and that just doesn\u2019t really change,\u201d Richardson said, adding the same demand for flexibility now extends well beyond women.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many men now want flexible workplace, too,\u201d she said \u201cBut the foundation and the DNA is still alive and well throughout our business entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n Zahra said the network continues to see advisors move from employment within member agencies into running their own businesses when ready.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got that pathway to kind of go, well, I\u2019m in Envoyage as an employee of one of our members, but then they can branch out and become an advisor and run their own travel business when it suits them,\u201d Zahra said.<\/p>\n That pathway of experienced people backing newer entrants also underpins Envoyage\u2019s push into formal mentoring. Richardson confirmed the TIME Mentoring program, sponsored by Envoyage and already running in New Zealand, will launch in Australia this year, with Canada to follow the same path. Richardson and global head of brand and marketing Allie Sparr are both mentoring under the program this year, a first for Richardson personally.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult from a time point of view,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I did win Mentor of the Year though, actually, in the Women in Travel one year.\u201d<\/p>\n Both leaders said Envoyage\u2019s model \u2013 recruiting only experienced advisors rather than those new to the industry \u2013 means the network relies on member agencies to provide an aspirational, visible pathway for the next generation, particularly women weighing entrepreneurship against traditional employment.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully we help make it look like a great career where you can control your income and be an entrepreneur,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n Think you\u2019ve got what it takes to be a Women in Travel Awards winner?<\/strong><\/p>\n The awards are open to women at every stage of their career. All you need to do is demonstrate excellence, dedication to the travel industry and a commitment to driving positive change.<\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s theme, \u2018Never Too Much\u2019, is a call for women to embrace ambition, authenticity and the confidence to recognise their own impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n The awards are open to women at every stage in their career and entry is completely free.<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve also introduced a shiny new nomination feature so that you can encourage an exceptional woman deserving of recognition. Those who have been nominated will still need to complete an application.<\/strong><\/p>\n kabarsula SLOT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Envoyage\u2019s support of the TIME Mentoring program builds on a business model that has, since…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kabarsula"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/travelweekly.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Astrid-Richardson-Envoyage-291x388.jpg\"\/)
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Enter or nominate here.<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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