Marie Lotode Chandra
Founder and CEO
After traveling to over 50 countries and experiencing the challenges that businesswomen face while on the road, Ms. Lotode Chandra created ViaHerWorld.com, a site designed to make business travel easier and more enjoyable for female road warriors.
Born and raised in France, Ms. Lotode Chandra, who studied International History at the Sorbonne in Paris and earned a dual MBA in France and Ireland, moved to New York in 2001. She worked as a marketing manager for a telecom startup and then later joined International Flavors and Fragrances as a project manager in their large accounts division.
Marie Lotode Chandra was born and raised in France. In 2001 she moved to New York and started working as the marketing manager for a telecom start-up. Later, she joined International Flavors and Fragrances as a project manager in their large accounts division. Marie created Via Her after traveling to over 50 countries and observing (and experiencing) the challenges that business women face while on the road.
Travel has been a passion for Marie for as long as she can remember. Growing up in the Brittany region of France, she moved to Paris to go to college when she was 18 years old. But her family always took one or two vacations a year and she was the one in charge of organizing the trips — researching and selecting the hotels and doing investigating what there was to see and do at each destination — even at a relatively young age. During her college years, Marie tried to get summer jobs abroad instead of staying in France so that she could see the world, spending one summer in Atlanta and another in South Carolina as part of an exchange program.
These days, she still spends a lot of time researching destinations and hotels in her bid to provide the very best recommendations for female business travelers. And having been in their high heels for many years, she knows best what it takes to make life on the road easier. In fact, she also works as a consultant to many domestic and international travel companies to give them insights on what female business travelers really want and need when on the road.
Perhaps the most exciting part of her job as the Founder and CEO of ViaHerWorld.com is the fact that Marie is constantly on the lookout for things to share with the readers of her blog. Whether it be the coolest iPhone apps to make travel easier, hotels with special programs for women, or mini sightseeing tours to squeeze into a free afternoon, you can rest assured that she’ll be sharing it all online at www.ViaHerWorld.com.
Favorite city: New York and Luang Prabang (Laos)
Worst travel experience: I missed a trans-Atlantic flight because my cab driver didn’t know how to get to the airport. This resulted in me having to buy an expensive “walk-up fare” ticket on a different airline – for the privilege of sitting in the last row of economy (no recline), right next to the overflowing toilet. Others include a drunk cab driver falling asleep at the wheel in Singapore, and breaking an arm in Greece.
Favorite travel gadget: iPad, of course!
Julia Um
Creative Director
Julia was born in sunny California and raised in rainy Seattle, where she attended the University of Washington getting her degree in Fine Arts and Comparative History. She ended up in New York after spending 3 years in Chicago selling everything from medical educational programs to magazine ads. She has been working for 212Media, a digital media venture company where she helped build and power solutions for companies such as Google, State Farm, Verizon, Emirates, Esurance and Tag Hauer.
Julia continues to work as a creative consultant for various start up companies helping to establish brand identities and develop web-based strategies and solutions.
Favorite City: Capetown, South Africa
Worst Travel Experience: I convinced 2 of my friends (1 which had extreme claustrophobia and motion sickness) to take a trip from Chennai to New Delhi India. I thought this would be a “super fast” express overnight train that would get us there in 8 hours. We hopped on in the evening assuming we would get there first thing in the morning and fell soundly asleep. Once morning came, we realized that I had misread the time schedule and to our horror discovered that we had 30 more hours to our final destination.
Favorite Travel Gadget: Power Converter - can’t use any of your gadgets without being able to power them - lesson learned!
Nicole Gates Anderson
Editor-at-Large
Nicole Gates Anderson was born and raised in New York City and went on to study creative writing at Brown University. She started off working in the art and design field, and later became a copywriter for a branding agency. After spending a few months on the Barack Obama Campaign in Ohio, Nicole returned to New York City and began freelance writing. She currently writes for several publications with a focus on art and culture including Dailycandy.com, A Magazine, Refinery29.com, Gotham Gazette and American Express.
Favorite City: I would have to say New York City for its energy, diversity, and grit. Amsterdam would be next on the list.
Worst Travel Nightmare: This is easy-- getting a second degree burn on my leg from a moped in Croatia. I basically spent the remaining week going in and out of hospitals. A close second would be the time my friend was supposed to meet me in Madrid and she didn't show up for over 24 hours because she got stuck in a snow storm in Paris, but never called to let me know the situation.
Favorite Travel Gadget: iPhone/iPod