Gillian was born in the Isle of Wight and, having gained experience in travel agencies in the UK, came to Ireland in 1975 to establish Budget. Starting off with £100, and working from a basement office in Dublin with two telephone lines, Budget Travel now has an annual turnover in excess of 200m and a 42% market share.

Gillian has held other high-profile roles over the years, including her current positions as chairman of Failte Ireland and Irish Life & Permanent. She is married to Harry Sydner, joint chairman of Budget Travel, and has a stepdaughter, Rachel.

Eugene is from Dublin, and joined Sunbound holidays straight after school, in a junior capacity. He previously worked in Blueskies, prior to joining Budget Travel, where he initially worked as an overseas representative in Majorca and Ibiza. An avid Liverpool supporter, Eugene now holds the position of managing director of Budget. He is married to Noelle, and has four children, Jessie, Colin, Daniel and Ben.

Gillian on Eugene The first time I met Eugene, he was working for Blueskies, which was probably one of the biggest travel companies around in those days. I got to know him, and found that he was highly intelligent, apart from being very charming and likeable, so I invited him to come and work with us. In the very early days, Eugene wanted to spend some time abroad to get more experience of the trade, so he went to Spain, where he became passionate about all things Spanish. It gave him a lifelong love of the Spanish lifestyle, but what it gave to Budget was invaluable, because it gave us huge experience on the ground. Eugene was dealing with customers day in and day out, looking after everything that arose and sorting out problems. It stood to him when he came back to Ireland to work full-time in a managerial capacity, because he was able to tune up the service we offered. He always had a very positive interest in customer service and giving people value for money, and I was always passionate about customers . . . not just going on the holidays, but also always coming back to us.

The love for Spain is a continuing passion for Eugene, and there is nothing he likes better than to head off for a long weekend to Spain. He and I go out together for a Mediterranean lunch and a bottle of wine a couple of times a year.

We've always worked together really well over the years, and I think that Eugene is highly intelligent and a very clear leader.

What I like about him personally is that he has a very dry, good sense of humour and we have great fun together. We've been friends for 25 years, and I'm about four years older than him, so we're of the same generation. We share a lot of interests, and tend to like the same books and music. We have built up a network of personal friends in the business over the years, all over the world.

We've laughed at so many funny incidences that have happened over the years, one of which was the group of Irish guys who got a donkey drunk on Irish whiskey and brought it up the stairs to their Corfu apartment. The next morning, they discovered that not only was the donkey cross with a hangover, but they couldn't get it out again because the biological make-up of the donkey's joints didn't allow it to go down the stairs. Ramps had to be built to get the poor donkey out again, but he was fine. There were many such gems like that, so when Eugene and I finally retire, we can write the book on the exploits of our holidaymakers!

Eugene on Gillian I clearly remember the first time I met Gillian. I was working for Blueskies at the time, and we met at Corfu airport. I was amazed that such a young, attractive woman was in charge of a tour operator company. Blueskies was state-owned, so it and Budget were like chalk and cheese. It was a huge learning curve for me when I joined Budget, because the company was young, vibrant and energetic, and much more hands-on. Gillian and Harry ran the company, but there was an open-door policy, and a huge concern about customer service and quality that I hadn't experienced previously. I was agency sales manager when I returned from Spain, and Gillian and I got on extremely well from the beginning.

Gillian is very clear-thinking and tenacious, and she has great integrity. We don't clash in any areas, and share the same goals, because we are both very focused on the customer care end of the business, driving down our costs, trying to offer the best products, and winning as many repeat clients as possible.

The infamous poster ad campaign featuring the girl's behind caused a lot of controversy, and while most companies would have taken down the ad under pressure, Gillian's response was to go out and place a banner across the offending bottom, with the words "Don't Get Left Behind" on it . . . which is just an example of how brilliantly creative she is.

I see Gillian regularly on a work basis, and on a social basis, probably three times a year. We have very nice long lunches, and Gillian is great company. She's full of life, and we get on extremely well. We seem to like the same kinds of television programmes and the same types of literature, so we have a lot in common.

Gillian and I have an excellent working relationship. She is very open to discussing everything, which isn't to say that she agrees with everything. The way things get sorted in Budget is very calmly . . . by sitting down and thrashing things out. We might have a ferocious battle for an hour, but we make the best decision and the right one at the end of it. We carry on then with no grudges, and it's really a terrific working relationship.