LMGI COMPASS
|
Fall 2018
•
55
LMGI: The Next Generation
by Paul Messana
All
photos
courtesy
of
Luke
Ford/LMGI
PAUL MESSANA: Where were you born and how did you get started in
locations?
LUKE FORD: I was born on the Gold Coast, Australia, and my path in locations
started whilst I was living in Vietnam. At the time, I was managing the
marketing and development for Oxalis, an adventure tour company, where
we set up and operated week-long underground expeditions to Son Doong
Cave, the world's largest cave, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The place
quickly became a drawcard for thrill seekers and location scouts, who had
come across the pictures of the cave online.
Our company was fortunate to assist Indochina Productions with a scout for
Kong: Skull Island, which is where I first met supervising location manager
Ilt Jones, LMGI. Ilt introduced me to locations and eventually offered me a
position on his team where I had the pleasure of working with Leann Emmert,
LMGI and Zachary Quemore to prepare a couple of key locations.
PM: Where did you go to school and what did you study?
LF: I did my undergraduate studies in marketing and international business
at Bond University on the Gold Coast. I then went onto my postgraduate MBA
with the first subject being a study tour of Europe. I quickly realized upon
landing in Czech Republic that I would not be flying home that semester,
and immediately set out to find work in Prague. I stayed for the three years
working for a tourism development company with projects across the region.
PM: How have your early days working in tourism helped your career in
locations?
LF: I was fortunate to work and travel through more than 50 countries during
my career in tourism, often spending weeks or even months in a new country.
I was primarily responsible for training tourism operators, which also gave
me the chance of getting to know these cities through the eyes of a local.
These experiences helped me to ultimately gain a better understanding of
people—which I think is key to being a successful location manager.
Working for Oxalis in Vietnam was a mind-blowing chapter in my travel
career. I learned to work in a fairly difficult environment and manage large
PROFILE ON: LUKE FORD
AGE: 32
HOME BASE: GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
POSITION: ASSISTANT LOCATION MANAGER
They're young, smart and enthusiastic about what they do. In this new occasional
column, assistant location manager Paul Messana, a genXer himself, talks with
the upcoming generation of location professionals on the rise.
