INTERVIEW: Judith Owens MBE, CEO TBL International

Judith Owens is the Chief Executive at TBL International Ltd (TBL) (the parent company to the award-winning Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic and TEC Belfast). With experience spanning over three decades, unrivalled knowledge of the tourism and events industry and an exceptional track record, Judith is one of UK’s the most experienced and established management professionals. CEO Today caught up with her to discuss leadership, inspirations, women in the work place and innovation in the Tourism and Hospitality sector.

What key leadership principles have guided your journey from Operations Director to Chief Executive of TBL International, and how have they influenced the success of Titanic Belfast?

I strongly believe that leadership style needs to align with where your organisation is in terms of its business cycle. In the early years of building Titanic Belfast, the senior management team had to use transformational leadership to really drive the start-up but as our teams and the business grew and matured, we needed to change and build a culture of empowerment.

Over the last 13 years, there have been several key leadership principles which have not only guided my personal growth as a leader as I took on the Chief Executive role but shaped my approach and helped Titanic Belfast be the success it is today.

The most significant of these is the importance of having and communicating a clear strategic vision and goals for the organisation – and then encouraging values and a culture that supports the delivery of those. The vision needs to be understood across the organisation, as do the key growth drivers and strategic objectives, to ensure how we operate on a day-to-day basis aligns with our overarching ambition.

I’ve also always believed that people are at the heart of what we do and so by fostering a culture of learning, development, collaboration and inclusivity we’ve worked to ensure that our crew at Titanic Belfast feel valued and that they have a voice, which in turn drives their commitment to our shared objectives and also makes Titanic Belfast a great place to work.

As a signature tourism project which came out of the Good Friday Agreement, Titanic Belfast was a bit of a game changer for Northern Ireland, which was emerging from years of conflict. As one of the most dramatic tourism projects opening anywhere in the world with the aim of establishing Belfast as the home of RMS Titanic and showcasing its maritime and industrial past, I took the lead in the setup and structure of the business that would operate the attraction.
Today, the tourism and hospitality sectors are ever-changing and being adaptable has been key to Titanic Belfast’s continued success. Sometimes this means leading through challenges – from economic uncertainties to global events like the pandemic – which has underscored the importance of resilience. By fostering a mindset of continuous improvement and innovation, this has allowed us to balance short-term agility with long-term stability, ensuring that Titanic Belfast continues to thrive.

Lastly, I believe that a CEO of a leading tourist attraction which sits within a wider destination, also has a responsibility to support that industry in terms of leading sustainable growth. When I took over as CEO of Titanic Belfast, I also set out to support and drive the tourism industry here in NI. Ways in which I do that are by being one of the founding members of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance  – which I’ve also chaired for the past 3 years, as well as sitting on the board of Visit Belfast and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) for the past 8 years.

Given your extensive experience in tourism and events management, how do you approach innovation within a historically significant venue like Titanic Belfast while maintaining its authenticity?

We believe that Titanic’s truth needs a guardian. Telling the authentic story is the only way to properly celebrate the hard work and ambition of those who designed and built the ship and to respectfully pay tribute to her passengers and crew. Dreaming big, exploring new ways to overcome challenges and then doing what has never been done before is Titanic DNA. And just like the designers who created the ship, we continually innovate how we tell her story, finding ways to capture the imagination.
We don’t sit on our laurels – we’re committed to continuing to being a key driver for tourism in Northern Ireland and so regularly re-invest in the business through our Titanic Belfast Gallery Refreshment Fund, which was established when the building was opened as part of our commercial operator agreement and is quite unusual for the industry, but we knew would be key to attracting new and return visitors to the attraction and our destination.

Last March we launched our biggest refresh to the Titanic Experience (£4.7m investment) where we continued to push boundaries by combining immersive technology with original maritime heritage and the authentic Titanic story to deliver an enriched, emotive visitor experience for our guests.

We were delighted to win a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Themed Entertainment Association for the second time following this, as well as to be appointed a gold Level Innovator by Innovate NI – one of the first tourism businesses to receive this.

I believe that innovation isn’t always about doing the newest thing or using the newest technology, but innovation for me is all in the way you use existing technology to overcome barriers or challenges or using it in a way that hasn’t been done before. It’s the little innovations, which when used to enhance the authentic story, lead to an immersive guest experience.

You have been a strong advocate for inclusive tourism. Can you share how this passion has influenced your decisions at Titanic Belfast and how the attraction has adapted to become more accessible and inclusive for all visitors?

Accessibility and inclusion has always been a personal passion of mine and I have been fortunate to work with many disability organisations over the past 20 years to encourage participation within the arts, tourism, events and entertainment industries in Northern Ireland.

At Titanic Belfast, we are continually working to lead the way in creating an inclusive and accessible visitor attraction for all. We want to make sure that when visitors with additional needs plan a trip, that they have the same opportunities as everyone else to enjoy their time making memories with their families, friends and loved ones.
As part of that, from the original construction of our architecturally unique building, right through to the recent refreshment of the Titanic Experience, accessibility and inclusion have been key considerations. All general access and circulation spaces inside and outside are accessible, with lowered counters and hearing loops on ticketing desks, varied lighting levels, stairs, lifts and escalators and accessible toilets throughout the building.

We also make significant contributions on an ongoing basis as part of our diversity and inclusion strategy, having invested £200k in the last year across the business with the introduction of a Changing Places facility for those with more complex needs and new British Sign Language and audio-described Multi-Media Guides.
Welcoming more than 8 million visitors from over 145 countries, our digital maps and Multimedia Guides are available in multiple languages, while we also strive to reflect diverse perspectives in our storytelling, ensuring the Titanic story resonates with a broad, international audience.

We operate a Free Carers Policy, whereby any paying guest who requires essential assistance to visit can avail of a free carer ticket, as well as provide additional aids such as Sensory Guides to familiarise guests before a visit, wristbands, ear defenders and blackout tents are available for those with ASD.

We are also proud to do outreach work within our local community, having established a Titanic Belfast Community Impact Fund by allocating 45p from every adult ticket purchased to support various initiatives, making the attraction accessible to those who may face financial or social barriers.

For us, inclusion is not just about making Titanic Belfast accessible for our guests but for our staff too. Therefore, we foster a culture of inclusion through a longstanding partnership with Orchardville, a charity that supports young people with additional needs into employment. Through this initiative, we have recruited several staff who work as part of our team on an ongoing basis. The organisation is also in the final stages of the Bronze Level Diversity Mark accreditation.

We are really proud to be recognised across the tourism industry as a leader in accessibility standards but are always continually working to further develop this and ensure our visitors’ access requirements are not only met but exceeded.

Titanic Belfast’s senior leadership team is notably female-led, with you as a driving force behind this progress. How do you foster an environment that empowers women in leadership roles, and what impact has this had on the organization’s success?

I believe I am very fortunate to have got where I am today and I do not take it for granted the support and guidance that has got me to this stage in my life. In particular, how people took time to listen to me, to give me the benefit of their experiences and to essentially look out for me when I was starting out in the industry, so I always want to foster that similar environment in any organisation I lead.

Empowering women in leadership roles has been a deliberate part of my leadership strategy at Titanic Belfast; I believe that diverse perspectives, particularly gender diversity, lead to more innovative and resilient organisations.

Across the business, we are committed to developing future leaders from within, ensuring our staff have access to the tools and support to grow into senior roles – this includes mentorship programmes, targeted training and personal development plans. We also recognise the importance of having a work-life balance and prioritise creating a culture that supports both career development and personal wellbeing; we’ve empowered women to pursue leadership roles without sacrificing other aspects of their lives.

By ensuring women are represented at the highest levels of our leadership team, we’ve sent a clear message that gender is not a barrier to success. This has created a sense of aspiration and empowerment among other women in the organisation, inspiring them to pursue their own leadership paths. Additionally, having a female-led leadership team has enhanced our reputation, demonstrating our commitment to equality and making us a more attractive employer for top talent.

Titanic Belfast was recently recognized as a great place to work, following an independent employee survey. How do you prioritize work-life balance within the organization, and are there any initiatives that you have implemented to create a positive workplace culture?

Yes, we were thrilled that Titanic Belfast was recently certified as a Great Place to Work®. This global accreditation is widely recognised as a measure of excellence in workplace culture and with 375 members of staff, it is testament of the value we place on getting feedback to ensure that our employees are happy and have a positive experience at work.

Some of the initiatives we have developed to support retention and develop the culture and purpose of our people include:

Physical Wellbeing – supporting a running club with 2 marathon teams, discounted gym membership, yoga sessions, eyecare vouchers, flu vaccines, fresh fruit in staff areas to encourage healthy eating, encouragement to embrace the outdoors during breaks with a staff room located outside the building, annual health and safety training with tailored training for individual roles and an annual review of all policies and risk assessments.

Emotional Wellbeing – personal development plans for staff with regular catch ups to monitor progression and discuss opportunities, resilience training, access to counselling services, support to maintain a strong work-life balance through generous annual leave entitlement (enhanced with longevity of service), birthday off and three full closure days over Christmas, allowing staff to spend time with their families. Significant investment into a programme of social events for all teams to socialise, plus year-round support for individual teams to get-together. Sabbaticals and extended time off are also supported.

Financial Wellbeing – enhanced company pension contributions, cost-of-living payments, pay reviews and annual raises. Access to high street discount schemes, complimentary GP access service, cycle-to-work scheme, free car parking and free uniforms supplied.

As an employer, we are committed to creating an engaged workforce – we support career development, strive to promote from within and also provide great employee benefits. It is fantastic that our teams are recognising our efforts, as from day one, our employees have played an important part of our success and are central to the first-class visitor experience we provide for our guests from around the world.

Find out more:
https://www.tblinternational.com/
https://www.titanicbelfast.com/