Renowned amongst her peers for her expertise in travel management, marketing strategy, and strategic planning, Beth Gardner is currently lending her knowledge to Custom Travel Solutions. She has served as the company’s founder, president, and CEO since 1995, and is proud to be making headway as a pioneer in the field. Under her leadership, Custom Travel recently launched a new logistics platform that provides a full, completely automated, end-to-end solution to travel needs. There isn’t anything else like this on the market in North America. Ms. Gardner has also branched out to form Custom Vacations, which focuses on leisure as opposed to corporate travel. Looking forward, she hopes to continue expanding and advancing her business.
Ms. Gardner had wanted to work in the travel industry since she was young, so owning her own travel service company is a dream come true. Her goal took a while to achieve, however, as she didn’t actually start out in the field. Her first professional position was in the logistics division of an oil and gas company. Although it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, she has reflected that her time in the corporate world prepared her well to deal with corporate clients. She is proud to say that her first ever client, from Custom Travel’s start in 1995, is still with the company today.
In recognition of her success, Ms. Gardner was named 89th on Chatelaine/PROFIT’s Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs for 2014, one of W100 Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs in 2014, and one of the Top 20 Business Leaders in Calgary in 2015. She was also a finalist for Ms. Calgary Stampeder, an inductee of Bristol Who’s Who, and the recipient of two Peak of Excellence Awards. She attributes her achievements to her honesty, integrity, and exemplary customer service, as well as to treating her employees well. Ms. Gardner hopes to be remembered as an ethical and transparent professional.
