PHOTO: © JPMORGANCHASE

THE BASICS
Name: Greg Stranz
Title: Managing director, Strategic Co- Brand Partnerships
Company, city: JPMorganChase; Wilmington, Delaware
First job: Entrepreneur with a scuba business
Where to next: Iceland; then Vancouver for the holidays and Whistler to ski. Rome next year!

A LITTLE BIT MORE
What actor or actress would play you in a movie of your life?
Ryan Reynolds or Jason Sudeikis

What would you be doing professionally if you weren’t in your current industry?
A fishing boat captain in the islands

What is your favorite book, movie or television show?
Ted Lasso — love his optimism to drive change and ability to bring out the best in people.

What historical figure, dead or alive, would you love to have dinner with?
Robin Williams and Maya Angelou, to name a few

THE BUSINESS
What is your most recent project, and what was the inspiration behind it?
Celebrating Aeroplan’s 40th anniversary! We took a moment in time to acknowledge the huge milestone for Air Canada’s loyalty program and celebrate with our customers. It came to life with a four-day 40 percent points bonus on purchases for existing customers, and 40 percent bonus on spend for 40 days for new ones. We capped it off with a special cardmember dinner event overlooking the New York City skyline that felt like being on top of the world.

What is your favorite aspect of the job?
The power of partnership. I love working with my team and my partners to turn rich rewards into travel possibilities for our cardmembers.

What’s the biggest business risk you’ve ever taken?
I’m a big believer in brand building and meeting the customer where they are consuming media, in a way that’s not selling but rather combining education with entertainment. Throughout my career that’s led to taking risks on new and different long- and short-form marketing content. If it’s never been done before, there’s a risk on the return as well as even the ability to measure it.

Who is someone you admire professionally in the travel industry?
I have the benefit of working and interacting with a lot of amazing and extremely talented people in the travel industry. Visionaries, innovators and change agents making a positive impact in the space are the ones who rise to the top.

AS A TRAVELER
Tell us about a travel nightmare: Nasty weather resulted in my wife and me missing our friends’ wedding in Portland, Maine. It started with rolling flight delays to ultimately being canceled. The rebooking option was two days after the wedding, so instead we flew to Boston, rented a car and drove the rest of the way, still missing the wedding but thankfully in time for the reception.

Share a comical travel experience: Flying back from Toronto years ago, I wasn’t sure I would clear customs in time and make the flight, so I switched to the next one. I ended up making it through in time, and the airline switched me back but had already given my upgraded seat away. Turns out, Kevin Bacon took my seat, and I’m now only one degree of separation from him!

What is your preferred method of travel — planes, trains, automobiles, cruise ships — and why? Definitely planes, but will take whichever gets me there quickly and safely. What I do love about all methods of travel are the connections you make, from making new friends, running into people you already know, and even reconnecting with yourself by having a moment to disconnect and think up new ideas.

What has been the best example of customer service you’ve experienced during your travels? The best customer service occurs when the person I’m interacting with is engaged, asks questions, is patient and generally cares. Lucky for me, I’ve had great customer service across the hotels and airlines I’ve traveled with lately. One that recently stands out is when a host at an international lounge made a few phone calls to find my information and allow me in versus turning me away because I wasn’t on the list.