Services designed with you in mind
CallUma’s multilingual services have been designed to provide you with
the ultimate in travel care products and overseas assistance services, right from
your day of departure through to your return.
For individuals, business travellers or families our services can be hand-picked
to suit you. Simply choose from our menu and enjoy the flexibility of designing
the ultimate in travel care to make the most of your trip.
Whether we’re protecting your luggage with our high quality luggage tags and tracking
service, providing help reporting a crime, finding a taxi firm, changing a flight
or speaking to an overseas doctor – whatever you need, our team of experts is at
the end of the phone to give you peace of mind that help is always at hand. And
our selection of handy Extras complements the package by keeping you up-to-date
with the latest flight, weather and travel information, allowing you to plan your
days accordingly.
Help when you need it, information when you want it
CallUma takes pride in the way we take care of our customers by simply
providing help when you need it and information when you want it. We do not hound
you with unsolicited text messages and we don’t charge a premium rate to use any
of our services. Whatever you choose, you can now travel with total peace of mind
that you’ve got one phone number to call or text when you need help or information
abroad, worldwide, 24 hours a day.
The people behind CallUma
Our Interpreters
Management Team
Code of conduct
Advisory/Investor Board
Group and Partners
The People Behind CallUma
The people behind CallUma have all been very successful in their business careers
to date. Between them they have vast experience of starting businesses from scratch,
growing them quickly and handling complex international operations, with sales into
hundreds of millions (indeed billions) of pounds.
They have all come together in the belief that if true globalisation of the world,
its people and its businesses is to take place, then we must be able to communicate.
By facilitating interpretation of the most commonly spoken languages in the world
through the very latest telephony and internet technology, CallUma is setting out
to unite
the world. They have all invested substantial amounts of their own money
behind this exciting enterprise to make travelling around our globe that much easier,
safer and more interesting.
This is why they believe that soon we will all CallUma
when we need help abroad, just as naturally as we would search Google or click on
to Yahoo.
Our Interpreters
Between them, our team of multilingual experts speak more than 87% of the world’s
most widely spoken languages. We recruit the best in the industry and pride ourselves on the quality of our interpreters. All language qualifications, such as degree certificates
in languages, interpretation and translation, have been fully verified
prior to employment. In addition to their formal qualifications, all interpreters
are fully trained to our highest standards and must attain the CallUma Certificate of Proficiency.
All CallUma employees are expected to adhere to the
CallUma Code of Conduct.
Management Team
Barry Bester, Executive Chairman - Barry has spent his career in the tile retailing business. He was a founder shareholder of Topps Tiles in 1984 and is today its Non-Executive Chairman. Having developed the initial business with about six stores, Topps Tiles floated on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 1997 and is today the UK's largest tile and wood flooring specialist with 309 stores in the UK. Using his many years of business experience in both the private and public company scene, Barry works with young companies and entrepreneurs in an advisory capacity.
Tony Partridge, Chief Executive - Tony is a serial
entrepreneur, having founded businesses in the UK, USA and Spain in a diversity
of sectors including furniture retailing, home security and
car retail. Whilst in
Florida in the 1980’s he developed and launched the concept for the world’s first
truly portable/ disposable child’s potty. Tony has spent the last 3 years evolving
the CallUma concept – first launching the pilot in Spain in 2005 and then developing
the service to cover 20 countries.
Ian Salkeld, Finance Director - Having trained with
Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC), Ian qualified as ACA 26 years ago and since then
has spent his career investing in/running private equity backed businesses. He
spent 13 years with leading VC, ECI Ventures (8 as a partner) and subsequently became
CEO of DVR, the UK’s largest direct TV and video rental operator (sold to Granada
for £52m). As Finance Director of Cash A Cheque for 3 years he helped grow the chain from 11
to 70 outlets before selling to Dollar Financial in 1999.
Ian holds an MA from Queens’ College, Cambridge.
Jonathan Hick, Non Executive Director - Jonathan is also a serial
entrepreneur, having been involved in starting 8
businesses from scratch – in marketing,
promotional clothing, fast food, recruitment, software, travel and printing. In
1987 he was part of the management buy-in of a long established northern advertising
agency, where he became Managing Director. Having sold out of that business in 1995,
he went on to found Directorbank, now Europe’s leading source of directors for private
equity backed companies. He reduced his stake in Directorbank in 2006 after a £4.3m buyout, but remains a director of the company, with unrivalled access to
Britain’s boardrooms. Jonathan is also Chairman of a travel operator in Spain and an international
print machinery business.
Stephen D Moss CBE, Non-Executive Director - Stephen has spent
his entire career in the leisure industry, in both travel and hospitality. Over
18 years he built up BCP into the UK’s leading airport parking
booking service, with sales of £45m, handling over 1 million bookings a year. He sold BCP in 2003
but remained at its helm until 2007. He is Chairman of London based property investor
Grosvenor Securities and Founder/Chairman of Springboard, a charity promoting
careers in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Stephen is a former MD of Michelin
rated Chelsea restaurant, Drakes, and a co-founder of 190 Queens Gate Plc with Antony
Worrall-Thompson, Richard Shepherd and Roy Ackerman. Stephen read law at King’s College, London, was called to
the bar at Gray’s Inn and holds a Masters from London
Business School. He was awarded an MBE in 1992 and CBE in 2002.
John Bevan, Non-Executive Director - John joined the CallUma board
in January 2009 as a non-executive director. Prior to this John was lastminute.com
UK managing director. He held a variety of roles within the lastminute.com group
over eight years, including holiday director and then travel director. John joined
lastminute.com following the acquisition of Online Travel Company (OTC), where he
was marketing and product director and was responsible for a number of leading websites
including bargainholidays.com, Onlinetravel.com, Ferrybooker.com and Ifyouski.com.
He played a central role in the acquisition of the ifyoutravel brands – including
ifyouski, ifyoudive and ifyougolf - and merging these brands within the OTC portfolio.
Prior to OTC, John was at EMAP Digital Travel, where he rose through the ranks to
reach the role of managing director, restructuring the company prior to its sale
to OTC in June 2001. John started his career in travel as international sales director
for hotel group Groupe Envergure.
Darran Burr, UK Sales Director
- Darran has accrued 29 years' experience in the UK Travel Industry, he held Sales
and Management roles for 15 years within Independent Agencies as well as with multiple
chain Hogg
Robinson Travel. For 14 years he has held Sales Development and Account
Management roles with Aon Suretravel Insurance and, most recently, with BCP Airport Parking where for 5 years he headed up their very successful Northern and Scottish sales operation. Darran
is a well known and respected figure within the Travel Trade
and looks forward very much in continuing to work with the trade at CallUma.
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Advisory / Investor Board
Chris Allen - In
1999 Chris and 3 partners invested their savings to co-found what would become one
of the most successful internet travel companies in Europe - laterooms.com. Over
the next 6 years he presided over the rapid operational growth of the business to
a level of 200 staff and over 1 million hotel bookings a year. With private equity
support from ECI along the way, Chris led the successful sale of the business to First Choice Plc for £108m in 2006 and remains as Chief Executive, driving new areas
of internet expansion. Chris’ earlier career was spent in operational roles with
Greenalls/De Vere Group Plc, where he was a founding director of the Premier Lodge chain (now Premier Travel Inn).
James Horler - James has spent a lifetime in the leisure business,
initially with Forte Plc and then with City Restaurants Plc where, as MD, he grew
the Frankie & Benny’s chain from 2 to 63 restaurants in 5 years. In 2001, backed
by Penta Capital, he paid £28m for the 18 strong La Tasca Spanish tapas chain, growing
it over 5 years to 83 outlets – including sister concepts La Vina and Sam &
Maxxie’s, and opening operations in the USA. Following flotation in 2005 James continued
as Chief Executive until retiring in May 2007 after the £135m sale of La Tasca Plc
to Robert Tchenguiz/Laurel Pub Group. James has been the recipient of many awards
from the hospitality industry and is currently Chairman of Leon, the fast growing
healthy food chain and of Cartwheel Recruitment, a hospitality staffing business.
Neil Utley - One of the leading figures in the motor insurance
industry, Neil is Chief Executive of Equity Insurance Group/Hastings Direct (handling
some 2 million policies a year). Having bought Equity (previously Cox Insurance
Holdings Plc) off the stock market in 2004, he led its £540m sale to IAG of Australia
the following year. In 1996, as CEO, Neil set up Privilege Insurance for Direct
Line founder Peter Wood. Prior to that Neil was MD of the Colonnade Insurance brokers
chain, with some 100 outlets.
Neil Roe - Neil has been involved in building up and selling 4
pub chains over the last decade – Devonshire Pub Co, Paramount Plc, MGR Leisure
and Pyramid Pub Company. As Managing Director of Pyramid (which was backed by RBS)
between 2001 and 2006, he ran 400 pubs with operating profits of over £12m, exiting
the business at the highest EBITDA multiple ever paid for a solus tenanted pub group.
The first 11 years of his career were spent with Bass Plc where he rose through
the ranks to become Commercial Director of Leisure Link (now Inspired Gaming Plc),
the UK’s largest amusement machine operations business. Neil holds an MBA from Bradford
University.
Roger Moss – Roger is currently Managing Director of Grosvenor
Securities, a substantial private UK and international property development and
investment group, with a history of interests in offices, leisure, retail and hotels.
He is the former Chairman of British Car Parks, the largest off-airport car park
network operator in the UK and has a particular interest in the marketing and sales
of new media oriented products. His early career was spent with Union Bank of San
Francisco and the Trafalgar House Group. Roger holds a BSc in estate management
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Group Sites and Partners
CallUma is part of the GlobeLink group of companies, which offer translation and interpretation services to individuals and businesses across the world. We have many years of experience in translation and interpretation and over 700 interpreters working with us. We provide services to many business clients, including: The AA, Norwich Union, Towergate Insurance. Our partners include: ABTA, Bristol International Airport, The Co-operative Travel Trading Group, Teletext Holiays, Monster Travel, Expedia UK, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (Know Before You Go campaign), GB Privilege, Hays Travel, lastminute.com, London Luton Airport, The Travel Trust Association.