Meet the 15below team
Get to know the people who make it all happen
Matt Needham
Chief Commercial Officer
Matt joined us in November, becoming the newest member of our Senior Management Team here at 15below. With an impressive history at a range of companies - including Accenture, Salesforce and Sky - he brings a wealth of experience that we're already benefiting from. Outside of work, Matt is a father of two, and a former international showjumper. He is at home on the south coast of the UK, and has recently taken up a new hobby: eFoiling, which is a little like surfing but with an electric motor attached below the board.
We asked Matt a few questions about working at 15below:
Why 15below and how has the journey been so far?
Last year alone, we sent 769 million emails, text messages and WhatsApp messages to 970 million passengers on behalf of over 60 airlines - all to help them reduce the stress of travel. As of 4 weeks ago, I get up each morning to lead a talented team covering Sales, Account Management, Marketing, Partners, Pricing and Operations - each of whom believe in the 15below mission, and are passionate about how we might help airlines to take the stress out of travel, and reduce their costs in the process. I’m brand new to the industry, but I'm here to stay.
If you could pick up a new skill in an instant, what would it be?
I’d like to be a Generative AI expert. This means becoming proficient in all the emerging platforms, not just ChatGPT. I really believe that AI is the future and that, if used well, it should help both my team and I to become better and more productive. It's here to stay, and I know it’s going to be a huge part of the travel industry going forward.
What's the one thing you'd recommend to all airlines to improve passenger communication?
I spent the last week of November in Istanbul at our Disruption Communications Workshop with over 30 of our customers, and other interested airlines. I was surprised by how many of them are using multiple platforms to talk to their customers – several of them send notifications from more than 20 different third-party systems. As we all know, passenger communications are complex, and there is a very real risk that this approach really does have an impact on an airlines’ brand consistency and ultimately confuses their customers. It’s also highly inefficient and far more costly. My recommendation is to use a single hub for all messaging - this puts airlines in full control of how they are perceived by passengers, building brand recognition and loyalty.
If you could get on a flight tomorrow, where would you go?
Back to the Philippines. I was there recently with my family for just a couple of weeks, but we only saw a tiny bit of what it has to offer. The islands we visited reminded me of the Maldives, but the resorts were a fraction of the cost.
Do you have a list of things you'd like to do in your life? If so, what’s the number one thing on your list?
I like a good list! My absolute priority at the moment, as well as making a positive impact to our customers, is to spend quality time with my two teenage children, before they head off to university. Faye (my wife) and I are lucky to enjoy a great family life, and we’ll miss them when they are gone.
