Peter Bingeman
Chief Executive Officer of Visit Victoria

By Karina Foo

Applying for jobs is already a full-time job. It’s also a tough one, as the quality of your day may likely be determined by an acceptance or a flat-out rejection which usually doesn’t come with a reason.

But when you’re vying for a C-Suite position, the process becomes more intense and challenging.

Peter Bingeman knows all about this as when he contended to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the tourism organisation Visit Victoria, it was the most rigorous and lengthiest recruitment process he endured.

“The recruitment process lasted for six months as I went through six interviews and did a number of strategic presentations. Needless to say, it was demanding but very rewarding,” recalls Peter, who commenced with the organisation in May 2016.

For the former Managing Director of Mondelez International in Singapore and Malaysia, making an industry and career switch presented more similarities than expected differences.

“I took a big leap of faith to expect a major change from working for 25 years in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry into tourism and events.”

It doesn’t quite matter what industry you work in, as long as you understand and are dedicated to the fundamentals, vision and mission of the brand you work for,” said Peter who applied for the job after hearing about it from his networks.

Just like a FMCG brand, Visit Victoria is also a brand and icon that aims to provide people a great experience. While the two industries are vastly different, they share the same purpose and philosophy,” explains Peter who managed the growth of Procter and Gamble, Cadbury and Kraft.

The biggest risk, he believes is the one taken by this government body to have made their final decision to hire Peter. They were impressed by his experience and credentials in successfully heading the sales and marketing process of Cadbury and Kraft mergers that became Mondelez.

Just like the mergers he handled previously, Peter’s first mission in Visit Victoria was to manage and oversee the unification of Tourism Victoria, Victorian Major Events Company and Melbourne Convention Bureau into one brand. As an entity, it aims to capitalise on commercial opportunities in an increasingly competitive and dynamic global tourism market.

“My team and I focused on creating a long-term strategy to deliver great results. I’m so pleased to say that tourism and growth in visitor numbers have been substantial,” said Peter.

The work has evidently paid off as since September 2017, the total expenditure in Victoria from visitor economy reached a high of $26.4 billion.

“I’ve always loved working in a team – when growing up, I enjoyed team sports. I understood the power of teamwork and wanted to use the type of positive synergy to deliver exceptional results. That has led me through my career and gotten me to where I am today where I’m so fortunate to work with great people.”

申请一项工作并非易事，甚至已经成为全职任务。因为你一天的质量很可能在被接受与否，或者是被无理由的拒绝消磨殆尽。

尤其当你在竞争高级管理层的职位时，这个过程就会变得更加激烈和富有挑战性。

Peter Bingeman对此经历清晰无比，因为他在成功任职旅游组织“观光维多利亚” (Visit Victoria) 首席执行官的过程中，历经最严格、最漫长的招聘流程。

“招聘持续了6个月，我接受了6次面试，并进行一些战略性的介绍。但要求虽然很高，可是我觉得值得，有高回报率。”他在2016年5月和该组织达成工作协议。

对于这位前任亿滋国际 (Mondelez International) 驻新加坡和马来西亚的董事经理来说，行业领域和职业转型带来的相似之处多于预期的差异。

“我的信念发生了巨大的转变，从工作长达25年的快速消费品(FMCG)领域，到旅游业和各种活动，其中也发生重大变化。不过其实在哪个行业效力并不重要，只要足够理解并致力于所在品牌的基础、愿景和使命。”这名曾掌管宝洁公司 (Procter and Gamble P&G)，吉百利 (Cadbury) 和卡夫 (Kraft) 公司的管理者这么认为。

犹如快速消费品牌一样，观光维多利亚也是一个品牌和标志，旨在给人们或消费者一个愉悦的体验。虽然这两个行业截然不同，但有着共通的目标和理念。

而谈到最大的风险，他认为是这个政府机构最终决定雇佣自己。招聘方对其成功领导吉百利和卡夫的销售和营销合并过程，造就亿滋的经验和资历感到印象深刻。

因此，就像他之前处理的合并计划一样，他对于观光维多利亚的首要任务是进行管理和监督，并将维多利亚旅游部、维多利亚大型赛事活动公司和墨尔本会议事务局合并成一个品牌。作为一个实体，他们的目标是在竞争日益激烈和充满活力的全球旅游市场中抓住商机。

“我和团队专注于制定一个长期战略，以取得最佳成果。而欣慰的是，旅游业和游客数量的增长相当巨大。”

这项工作从2017年9月起就有了明显的成效，维多利亚的旅游总开支达到了264亿澳元。

“我一直喜欢在团队中工作，在成长过程中，我同样喜欢团队运动。”他非常了解团队合作的力量，并希望利用类似积极的协同作用来造就出色的成果。这也让他的职业生涯走到了今天，他表示与杰出的人们一起工作是幸运的事。