At Agoda, we believe travel allows people to enjoy, learn, and experience more of the amazing world we live in. It brings individuals and cultures together, fostering empathy, understanding and happiness.
We’re a skillful, driven and diverse team from across the globe, united by the same passion. Harnessing our innovative technologies and strong partnerships, we aim to make travel easy and rewarding for everyone. We work hard and move fast – but always with a shared purpose: bridging the world through travel. As an organization, this guides our every endeavor, serving as a compass that directs us towards meaningful impact.
In our new series inspired by our purpose, we asked four Agodans how travel has shaped their lives, and how they, in turn, are shaping the travel industry.
Becoming a better communicator
Lita Kittisrikangwan
Internal Communications Specialist
“In my early twenties, I traveled to Germany and took an intensive language course. While there, I was lucky to connect with locals who taught me countless new words. What’s fascinating about German is that it has a lot of words to represent different feelings, many of which don’t have direct translations, like ‘fernweh’, which refers to ‘far-sickness’, an unsatiated longing for faraway places and a yearning for travel.
With each new word that I learned, I grew to better understand the German culture, the people I met, and most of all, myself. The language was a portal to a deepened empathy and appreciation for the world around me, and I’ve carried these qualities with me ever since.
As an Internal Communications Specialist, language and communication are the building blocks of everything I do. Whether it’s hosting internal talk shows or crafting written content, I work closely with employees across the company to keep us inspired and informed as we bridge the world through travel.
With a team as diverse as Agoda’s, it’s vital for me to understand my audience so I can connect them with the information they need. Empathy is the key to being a great communicator, and that quality transcends languages.”
Seeing things more clearly
Panos Vatsis
Global Head of Brand
“When I was young, I traveled to a remote Greek island and gained a new perspective on life. It was the first time I’d ever left the city. I went on a walk, and as I turned a hill, I looked up at the sky and was amazed. Away from the village lights, there was a majestic universe unlike anything I’d ever seen. I realized this was a good life lesson: when you cut out the chaos and emotional noise, you can see things more clearly, things you’ve never seen before. It’s a lesson I’ve kept with me throughout my life and career.
As a Global Brand team, we help Agoda to bridge the world through travel by raising awareness of the many travel experiences available on our platform. We empower people to travel by offering affordable options and inspiring them to see the world.
My story is just one of the many ways that travel can impact you. When you travel, you discover more of the world and more of yourself. It’s where you meet and interact with people from different walks of life, reflect on yourself and learn from them. As your empathy and understanding grow, you see things with a more macro view outside your little bubble. Travel is not just a journey of leisure. It’s also a journey of personal growth.”
Growing outside your comfort zone
Jasmine Bakshi
Associate Director of Talent Business Partners
“For most of my life, I grew up, studied, and worked in Delhi. I thought I knew how the world worked. I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I moved to Kenya. It was transformative: connecting with new people and hearing their stories gave voice to my own ideas and opinions, making me more confident and assertive. To me, travel is the best, fastest way to get out of your comfort zone and find your true potential. That’s why I was ready to join Agoda: I wanted to see what life in a new country would bring, and I’d heard it was an incredibly diverse team.
A key part of my role in leading learning initiatives is creating opportunities for Agodans to upskill and connect to our culture. As a diverse company, we come from different cultures and working styles. Still, we all need to work together and create the impact we envision as an organization. And that’s not easy!
This is where we come in. Our programs enable managers to understand themselves and their teams and empower employees to bridge gaps and collaborate better. Empathy is a huge part of what we instill: learning builds empathy, making us better at what we do. It’s especially important in our industry, where we work with people across the globe to bridge the world through travel.”
Finding common ground
Pierre Gompertz
Head of Strategy
“Travel has always been a defining part of my life. I was lucky to grow up as the son of a diplomat, so by age twenty, I’d lived in six different countries, including Ethiopia. If you’ve never been, it’s full of amazing sights, fantastic food, beautiful culture, and the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
When I think about how travel has shaped me, I fondly remember the times I’ve met someone new and connected over our stories of Ethiopia. We’ve gone from being strangers to bonding over dining at the same restaurants or visiting the same places. These shared experiences brought us together, even from halfway across the world. As someone who’s moved around a lot, this sense of belonging reminds me that home can be found in unexpected places. When I met my wife, travel was one of the first things we bonded over! For me, working at Agoda is about creating those moments that tie people together: that’s how travel bridges the world.
As our Head of Strategy, I work with many teams to identify untapped opportunities and help chart a course towards them. Working in the Strategy team means I get to join the dots between all the different departments within Agoda and bring everyone together into a common vision: creating a long-term positive impact and connecting people through travel.”
If our purpose resonates with you, join us!
