Aussie’s insane work schedule took him on 50 long-haul trips in a year

FIFTY long-haul trips in a year and days that started at 8am and finish at 1am. But it took one really crazy trip to give this businessman a reality check.

Neil Maxwell spent years constantly travelling long-distance for work.

IF THE daily commute has ever got you down, this man’s career is in another league.

Sydney businessman Neil Maxwell has spent most of his working life making thousands of long-haul flights overseas, peaking at 50 trips in a year. “Half a dozen were literally for one day,” said the 49-year-old, who is focused on cricket player management and sports marketing, travelling mostly to India, the US and the UK. “You take a hotel just to shower, then come back after the launch event.” On one occasion, Mr Maxwell found himself stranded in the northeast of India in the middle of the night on his way to meet a cricket official. “I flew to Singapore, then Calcutta, then took a short internal flight and a car drive,” he told news.com.au. “We broke down at 12.30am and ended up sitting in the back of a bullock cart with my laptop under one arm and a bag in the other hand.” Thirty-five minutes later, he arrived at the meeting to learn that the official couldn’t make it. “I remember sitting there thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ It was a reality check.” Despite the enthusiasm around virtual conferencing and other technology that enables online collaboration, a surprising number of Australians still think long-haul travel is vital for doing business. A recent study from Egencia, the business arm of Expedia, found that 75 per cent of Australian corporate travellers said they would be less successful in their role if they did not go overseas — well above the global average of 67 per cent. Perhaps it’s our isolation, but Mr Maxwell believes meeting clients face-to-face was vital for doing good business. “Definitely in Asia, culture-wise and otherwise, it’s really important to shake hands and build rapport. It’s important to spend time building relationships ... embracing that culture and developing understanding.” Over the past 24 months, he’s finally taken his foot off the pedal. “It was a whirlwind really,” he said. “It was exciting for me, a lot of wheeling and dealing, putting out bushfires every day. It was quite a dynamic time from a business perspective and a personal development perspective.” Mr Maxwell tried bringing his wife and three young children out to India, but they still didn’t see much of him since he was working from 8am to 1am. “It was very hard for the family,” he admitted. “The attraction of working more domestically was highly alluring.” Eventually the businessman, who established Twenty20 cricket in the US and was there for the start of the IPL, realised he had reached a level where others could be responsible for overseas relationships. “When you build a business from scratch, all things revolve around you. The key is letting go.” Now, he is chief executive of Techfront, a business that creates tech solutions for sports. It was a stressful, frantic time, says the insanely well-travelled Australian. But he wouldn’t change it for the world. [e-mail]

Originally published as Aussie’s insane work schedule took him on 50 long-haul trips in a year