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Just after finishing college in England, Barney Harford was a finalist for a job at Mars Inc., which makes chocolate bars and other food products.
"Ultimately, they said, 'You were close, but we decided not to offer you a job,'" Harford recalled. "'You asked too many questions.'"
It's a refrain you'll hear from those who know the 41-year-old Orbitz Worldwide chief executive, an adventure traveler who favors mountaineering and kite surfing in remote locations over sitting poolside at a resort.
"Barney is a possessed man," said Mark Britton, a former colleague of Harford's who now sits on the Orbitz board of directors. "When he turns his big brain to something, he will wrestle it down like no one I've ever met before."
Harford is often asked to repeat himself, not so much because of his British accent but because he speaks fast, his mind clearly outpacing his tongue's abilities.
Roger Liew, chief technology officer at Orbitz, said Harford's instant recall, even on complex technology matters, sometimes makes him "intimidating" to work for.
"He has this amazing attention to detail for just about anything he does. It's almost like he can be an expert in any topic," Liew said. "I think most people who work for him learn very early on that there's no such thing as being able to gloss over the details. He definitely keeps us honest."
Harford joined Orbitz as CEO in early 2009, just as the global financial crisis was crushing the travel industry. And he's faced fierce competition from the likes of his former employer, Expedia, and fast-growing Priceline.com.
Orbitz has struggled to keep up.
