An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Consumers will be more discerning and will prioritize ease of access, so it will be important for companies to offer those kinds of experiences. As more destinations open to vaccinated travelers without a quarantine, we will see more travel customers choose trips to those destinations. Customers will gravitate toward host countries, resorts, and regions that can demonstrate low case counts and that are doing the most to prevent local transmission. Once companies can communicate to the consumer that the right safety measures and protocols are in place, travelers’ confidence will increase.
As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Graham Williamson, CEO of CVM Medical Ltd.
Graham Williamson is CEO of CVM Medical Ltd. and its parent organization LIFESUPPORT Group of Companies. He is responsible for overseeing all of the organization’s global air ambulance and medevac operations, on site medical support portfolio, and COVID-19 testing division. Graham has led the LIFESUPPORT team since its inception in 2005 and is a licensed paramedic with 21 years of experience in out-of-hospital care. Under Graham’s leadership, LIFESUPPORT was able to pivot once COVID-19 brought on new regulations for international travel, leveraging its knowledge and resources to offer quick and reliable private testing as a solution for those still needing to go abroad.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My background is in international medicine. Before my current role, I was a paramedic for the BC Ambulance Service, and an emergency health technician in the city of Calgary. During those eight years, I gained hands-on experience in patient transportation, airline medical escorts, remote site healthcare, and EMS logistics. I was able to turn this experience into an executive position with LIFESUPPORT Group, where I now focus on areas like business development and planning, corporate governance and leadership, and complex aeromedical case management.
As the pandemic continued, we realized governments were focused on symptomatic testing on the domestic front, but there was a gap in international travel. Despite leisure travel being down sharply, there was still an essential travel market, with certain workers heading back to their jobs in other parts of the globe. CVM Medical was therefore designed to combine our parent company’s medical expertise with the customer service infrastructure to provide COVID testing for essential travellers.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The most interesting thing has been watching how a global pandemic has flipped the international travel industry on its head. In some regions, work that used to take 15 minutes can now take 15 days, and vice-versa. Working with consulates, embassies and airlines used to be nameless and faceless, but is now a cooperative, collaborative task. Some areas that used to have visa-free travel now take a month of work in order to get clearance. From my niche of international travel, this has been the biggest change to come out of COVID.
Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think we could have moved into the rapid testing space six months sooner. In hindsight, we watched the pandemic’s progression a little bit longer than we needed to before making that decision. We weren’t the last company through the door for asymptomatic rapid testing, but we also weren’t the first. We only recently hit the one year milestone for COVID, so those six months become a lot more significant in that timeline. It definitely taught us a lesson about proactivity in business.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
As someone who works seven days a week, the tip I would suggest is to surround yourself with motivated, exceptional people, like I have done at CVM Medical. The team here is excited to work with airlines, airports, and other authorities to get people travelling again and resume our industry. Working with a team of like-minded individuals can make even the most stressful situations enjoyable — team alignment is also critical when you need help and support or even a bit of space to reset.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I’m very grateful for the support of my wife. She is my sounding board when things do not go according to plan. When you share the same schedule, live at the same pace, and breathe the same air while working from home, a supportive partner is a terrific thing to have.
Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?
Our innovation is increased access to rapid testing for travellers. CVM Medical’s rapid test is faster, less invasive, and more cost effective than the lab-based PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. When it comes to PCR testing, it can take 24 to 36 hours to receive your results back. That is a long time to wait when you have an international flight booked. We recognize, along with governments, airlines and health authorities, that passenger testing is here for the foreseeable future. The sooner we can get passengers their results, at the best price, and at the most convenient location, the sooner the travel industry can recover.
Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?
Right now, our goal is to get people travelling again safely, and rapid testing is a key component of the safe resumption of travel. We are creating an environment where passengers can undergo a virus test, receive their negative results, and board their flight within 15 minutes. We are moving away from having to visit a lab, a pharmacy, or another offsite location to take a PCR test 48 hours or more before travelling. By removing this pain point, travellers can simply arrive at the airport, drop their luggage and get tested at the CVM clinic. After they receive their negative results, they can continue through to security and have a great flight.
How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?
The status quo is PCR testing. If we compare the big labs that process PCR tests to brick and mortar retail, then CVM Medical is like the Amazon of COVID testing. We can set up at any airport with our rapid tests and perform them on a full plane of passengers. We are a disruptor because we have lowered the consumer’s cost and increased their access to rapid test results.
As you know, COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?
Consumers will be more discerning and will prioritize ease of access, so it will be important for companies to offer those kinds of experiences. As more destinations open to vaccinated travelers without a quarantine, we will see more travel customers choose trips to those destinations. Customers will gravitate toward host countries, resorts, and regions that can demonstrate low case counts and that are doing the most to prevent local transmission. Once companies can communicate to the consumer that the right safety measures and protocols are in place, travelers’ confidence will increase.
You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?
My perfect post-COVID vacation experience would be showing my vaccination certificate, boarding a plane, and enjoying a lovely two-week South Pacific cruise.
Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I am here to provide and promote mechanisms for the safe return of leisure travel. I want to see airports full again. I want to see airline tickets oversold and people once again having a great and safe time on their holidays abroad. CVM Medical’s contribution has been to introduce rapid testing directly at the airport, so everyone involved can have full confidence that each flight leaving the gate is COVID-free.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
That movement would be to normalize a safe and quick return to our pre-COVID-19 way of life. With a vaccinated population and access to low-cost, effective rapid testing, I’m optimistic for this possibility.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Twitter: @CvmMedical
Instagram: @covidmedical
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/cvm-medical/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Graham Williamson of CVM Medical: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.