Meet the team

Darryll Beck Harridge has worked his way up from cleaner at Heathrow airport to Managing Director of his own successful travel company. He got the travel bug at Heathrow’s Pan Am warehouse in 1974, watching Concorde take off just 100 yards away. Two years later, he became a courier for a travel company, excitedly collecting tickets from BA, AF, KL, SR, MH, SQ, and all the other major airlines. But when he found himself waiting around a lot between pick-ups and drop-offs, he asked if he could help out answering the phone. A few months later, and Beck was taking bookings, appointed Reservations Clerk by his impressed manager. Two years later: Assistant Manager. ‘You’re not bad at this game!’ Beck recalls telling himself. ‘Why not have a go at setting up your own company?’ Thirty five years later, and he is still proud of Harridge, founded on the principles of integrity, service, expertise, and accountability, with trusting clients who actively recommend it to others.

Madhurie worked for NatWest in the City of London from 1970 until 1988, when she took a career break to raise her two children. Her banking experience is a vital asset to Harridge Group, where she has spent an enjoyable 25 years. She loves being with her children, cooking, going to the gym, running, eating out, going to the theatre, her Zumba class, and yoga.

David has been working in the travel industry for almost 40 years and has recently marked his 12 year anniversary at Harridge Group. He recalls, as a schoolboy, going to work with his dad, an air traffic engineer at Manchester airport, watching the old flapper departures boards as the letters clattered around to make new words; so many places he’d never heard of. He’d head home, bury his head in an atlas, and from there his love of geography and travel grew. He’s certain that if he’d kept a record of the many strange enquiries he’d received – every single email and phone call he deals with is different – it would be a best seller. David lives in Isleworth, Middlesex with his partner of almost 20 years. He loves travelling (of course), walking, photography, food and wine.

Charlotte took several travel courses at college, where she first became interested in the industry. She began selling holidays part time at Thomas Cook, while studying Galileo in preparation for a move to business travel. Since starting with Harridge 15 years ago, she has worked her way up from Rail Consultant, General Manager of the corporate team and now Senior Business Travel Consultant. She loves her job because no two days are the same, she enjoys working out complex itineraries, difficult fares and challenging herself to get cheaper fares than the Internet! A self-confessed chatterbox, she loves socialising in her spare time.

Simon joined Harridge in 2011 as a trainee and quickly realised it was a company he would like to be with for the long-haul. He attributes this to the great team of people we have in the company. Simon enjoys working closely with City of London insurance companies on their complex travel needs and delivering the best possible service. In his spare time, Simon enjoys playing guitar, fitness and following Arsenal FC.

Mumtaz is AAT qualified and has over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of finance. She joined Harridge in 2013 as a Senior Accountancy Assistant. Mumtaz devotes her spare time to fundraising charity work for her local community and enjoys spending time with her large family. In her (limited!) spare time after that, she likes to read and walk.

A hard and helpful worker, Lisa has a GNVQ in Leisure and Tourism and has worked in the accounts department for nearly 21 years. She loves listening to music (apart from classical), loves watching rugby (and supporting Ireland), enjoys the Six Nations Championship (especially when Ireland are playing), enjoys a good walk (especially if the weather is good), and reading (in her spare time).

After law school, and a brief stint at a commercial law firm in Canary Wharf, Jonathan joined the family business in 2006. The move from commercial law to corporate travel was a welcome challenge, and he had to learn quickly and develop new skills. He particularly enjoys getting to know his clients, each one unique, befriending the people, not assessing the numbers. Harridge Group excites and motivates him: to continually enhance his clients’ experience, to make a real difference, to offer a uniquely personal and first class service. Jonathan loves leisure time, family time, golf time and cricket time! On top of that, he tries to complete one 26-mile marathon a year for the NSPCC, the discipline and humility of which he really values.

With her vast background in the Arts, Zenna became very interested in travel after working for the world-wide BBC team. She entered the family business aiming to get involved with corporate travel and events. She has been working in this industry since 2011, and before that for many years as a summer job. She loves travelling, organizing events, and meeting with her clients. She also enjoys a spot of dancing and keeping as fit as possible. She’s a cleaning fanatic, and likes to sit in the sun with a cool beer or a glass of fruity red wine.

Gourav has been working in the travel industry for nearly 15 years , before joining Harridge Group he was working for large TMC in India. In his spare time, he likes to watch cricket and movies. Originally from Delhi and like spending time with family both here and abroad.

I am originally from Burma(Myanmar). I managed to gain a degree B.Econ (Statistics) from Yangon Institute of Economic, Myanmar. I decided to further my career to come to the UK to further study. I got B. A (Hons) in Applied Accounting (ACCA part qualified). I love cooking and baking on my spare time & sharing my food. I joined Harridge in June 2018.

I have 14 years’ experience in travel industry. I worked as Reservation and Ticketing Supervisor for Iraqi Airways (IKB Travel & Tours ltd which is GSA for Iraqi Airways), gaining valuable experience with GDS systems. Also worked with large Luxury tour operator as well TMC and gained extensive knowledge in all aspects of leisure and business travel. As a Corporate Consultant at Harridge, my main responsibility is providing first class service to clients. Other interests I have are listening to music, learning new technology, playing cricket, and travelling. In my spare time I love to spend time with my family, friends and watching movies.

Having lived in several parts of Europe, Sarah is truly international. In the UK, she first started working for Air France over a decade ago, then moved on to Business Travel. She is well travelled and enjoys being in the outdoors in her free time.