Cecilia Dahl | Outstanding Leadership in Management

When Cecilia started Travelytic in 2015, she also embarked on a bold personal journey, moving aboard a sailboat to live and work at sea full-time. The decision raised eyebrows, especially among her London partners, who were skeptical about the feasibility of remote leadership in such an unconventional setting.

However, she knew it was possible. She had recently exited Smart Destinations, a company she co-founded in 2002, where the team scaled to millions in annual revenue by leveraging the power of remote teams. That success gave her the confidence to believe she could lead, innovate, and grow Travelytic under similarly unconventional circumstances.

Ten years later, having not only survived the global pandemic but returned to pre-pandemic size and beyond, Travelytic remains the only comprehensive solution for competitive intelligence in the escorted tour market. The company is recognized as a pioneer in custom revenue management systems, driving innovation and excellence in the sector.

She knows remote teams thrive or fail based on leadership quality because she has lived it. Through trial, error, and innovation, she learned how to lead and achieve what many thought impossible. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to adapt to remote work overnight, she was uniquely qualified to help organizations navigate the shift and thrive. From this, The Remote Leadership Lab was born, enabling her to share proven strategies to empower leaders of high-performing remote teams.

Remote work transforms businesses by accessing global talent, increasing diversity, and reducing overhead. It also opens doors for individuals limited by location or mobility. However, to realize its potential, leaders must adopt new ways to build trust, engagement, and community without relying on physical office presence.

A leader in the management field, she launched The Remote Leadership Lab in 2024. It’s a 16-week certification program combining lectures, challenges, and peer feedback to equip leaders with critical remote skills. Her fifth and sixth cohorts launched in early 2025, and clients have already reported transformational improvements in productivity, communication, and morale. She has also expanded to one-off workshops, driving equally impactful results. The future of work is here, and she is dedicated to helping leaders thrive in it.