095 | Taking People Around the World with Elizabeth Blount McCormick
Elizabeth Blount McCormick is the owner and President of UNIGLOBE Travel Designers, an award-winning full-service travel management company that specializes in corporate and leisure travel. Alongside the UNIGLOBE team, Elizabeth designs, coordinates, and delivers complex travel plans for the diverse needs of individuals, groups, and corporate travel partners. Before becoming the President of UNIGLOBE, Elizabeth launched a career in retail and worked at Gap Inc. and Edun. At Edun, she served as a Production Line Manager, which allowed her to travel extensively to Tunisia, India, Portugal, and Peru, sparking her passion for travel. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Spelman College, a historically Black liberal arts college for women. She is also the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2014 Frederick J. Yates Memorial Scholarship Minority Business Award, for which she received a scholarship to the Tuck Executive Education minority business program at Dartmouth College in Hanover.
Elizabeth joins me today to share her passion for travel and helping people see the world. You’ll hear about her childhood and how she and her family were not exempt from racism despite having privilege. She discusses her career in retail and explains how being a corporate traveler gave her a unique perspective that continues to inform her work at UNIGLOBE Travel Designers. She reveals how she remained steadfast and led the UNIGLOBE Travel Designers team through the pandemic. You’ll also learn the value of selflessness, vulnerability, and authenticity.
“The pandemic elevated the fact that people, instead of buying items, are now looking at experiences like multigenerational travel and creating memories that will last a lifetime.” - Elizabeth Blount McCormick
This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:
● Growing up in Bexley and experiencing racism in the sixth grade
● Elizabeth’s time at The Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio
● Navigating the world as a young, Black woman and the importance of being in a group where you can be yourself
● Why Elizabeth decided to attend Spelman College
● Why Elizabeth recommends going to historically black colleges and universities or HBCUs
● Her career vision after studying at Spelman College and her first foray into retail
● Elizabeth’s experience working with a male chauvinist
● Leaving retail, returning to Columbus, and becoming the President of UNIGLOBE Travel Designers
● The pandemic’s impact on the travel and hospitality industry
● How Elizabeth started growing UNIGLOBE Travel Designers’ business when she took over the company
● One of Elizabeth’s favorite stories from the leisure travels she has organized for clients
● The demographic of UNIGLOBE Travel Designers’ leisure and corporate travel clients
● Inter-racial relations in business and what it’s like to be a woman- and minority-owned business in Ohio
● How Elizabeth led her team at UNIGLOBE Travel Designers through the pandemic
● Elizabeth’s travel bucket list and advice to young people starting their career
Our Favorite Quotes:
● “In this business and life, you need to be able to adjust. If you’ve no flexibility, it will be difficult to succeed.” - Elizabeth Blount McCormick
● “When you’re hiring people, you want to ensure you’re hiring someone you would want to have a meal with.” - Elizabeth Blount McCormick
Connect with Elizabeth Blount McCormick:
● UNIGLOBE Travel Designers on LinkedIn
● UNIGLOBE Travel Designers on Instagram
● UNIGLOBE Travel Designers on Facebook
● UNIGLOBE Travel Designers on YouTube
● Elizabeth Blount McCormick on LinkedIn
Spaceship Not Required
I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.
I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.
In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.
Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.