Executive appointments, 5-9 October

Hurtigruten has appointed Magnus Zetterberg as its new managing director in the UK. 

Magnus is a Swedish and American citizen who was previously the CEO and founding member of Travelaer, an e-commerce software company for airlines.

He has extensive experience in the travel industry having spent 12 years at Scandinavian Airlines most recently as vice president of eCommerce and Distribution. Prior to that, he held roles in Business Intelligence, Performance Management & Group Strategy.

“I’m very happy to have Magnus on board,” said commercial director Arild Kaale. “With his broad experience in the tourism industry he will contribute with inspiration, clear leadership and focus on increased growth in UK  & Ireland.”

Magnus commented: “It is an exciting time to join Hurtigruten, with new ships and new product in the pipeline for 2016. Much of my previous experience is in the online arena, so I’m particularly pleased to see the new web platform that launched this week and am very excited about the plans for its future development, both within the trade and consumer areas.”

Royal Caribbean International has appointed Tamara Strauss its new marketing director for the UK & Ireland.

Tamara joins RCI from InterContinental Hotels Group where, for the last seven years, she has worked in senior marketing roles for the group, across a number of disciplines including global agency partnerships and UK brand marketing. During this time she managed a multi-million pound re-launch for Holiday Inn in the UK.

Stuart Leven, ‎managing director, Royal Caribbean International, UK & Ireland commented: “It’s an exciting time to have Tamara come on board as we have high ambitions to take the cruise category and Royal Caribbean in particular to new audiences. Tamara has already been integral in delivering our new agency partner structure and her wealth of experience, knowledge, creativity and strategic input will be highly valued as we set the brand up for further success in 2016 and beyond.’’

Dublin-based aparthotel operator Staycity has announced the appointment of Barry Hickey as development director.

A chartered accountant by profession, Hickey joins Staycity with a strong property background having spent 13 years with Irish developer Ballymore, most recently as finance director for UK & Ireland.

“Staycity is a growing brand in an expanding sector,” said Hickey. “I’m delighted to be joining the company as we embark on a strong expansion programme over the next 12 months. We are actively seeking sites both in the UK and in key cities across Europe.”

Hickey replaces chief commercial officer Anthony Carragher who is leaving Staycity after two years to pursue his own interests.

Meanwhile, Staycity has also announced that Patrick Dempsey, former managing director of Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, is to become a non-executive director of the company.

Staycity CEO Tom Walsh said: “It’s a real coup to secure Patrick as a member of our board of directors. His formidable experience and expertise will be of immense benefit to Staycity as we forge ahead with the expansion of our business.

“In addition to his board commitment, Patrick has agreed to give more time to working with me on strategy. As a result of a personal investment in the business, he will also become a minority shareholder.”

During his 10 years with Whitbread, which is a FTSE 50 company, Dempsey was credited with doubling the size of its Premier Inn brand to some 60,000 rooms, turning it into Britain’s largest and best-known hotel company.

Big Bus Tours has appointed Alex Payne chief customer officer, based at the company’s global headquarters in London. 

Payne will be responsible for the development of the company’s customer experience and building the strength of the digital channel.

Payne joins Big Bus Tours with a wealth of customer-focused experience, most recently including eBay, where he was European chief marketing officer and interim vice president of Global Brand.

“I am delighted to be joining Big Bus Tours at such an exciting time,” Payne said. “I am joining an outstanding business, which is the clear leader in its category and which still has enormous potential ahead of it.”

The recruitment of Payne to Big Bus Tours follows the hiring of Sean Wilkins as chief financial officer in May of this year. Wilkins was formerly chief financial officer at Domino’s Pizza Group PLC, and previously held senior management roles at Tesco and O2, bringing significant UK and international experience to the company.

Saga Travel has today announced the appointment of Jeannette Linfoot as managing director for Saga’s Tour Operating Division.

This is a newly created role and Jeannette joins Saga on 1st December having previously been  managing director, Emerging Markets for TUI Travel.

Jeannette will be responsible for all of Saga’s tour operating brands:  Saga Holidays, Titan and Destinology and will report to Saga Travel’s chief executive, Andrew Strong.

Strong commented: “This is an exciting time for Saga Travel with our ambitious plans for growth and I am delighted that we have attracted someone of Jeannette calibre to join us to drive the strategic development of our tour operations. Her appointment builds on the outstanding quality and capability of the existing management team. We have been steadily growing and extending the reach of our travel businesses and we are sure to go from strength-to-strength.”

Jeannette has a wealth of travel experience; prior to her current role with TUI, she spent a number of years as product director at First Choice and head of Product at Thomas Cook. In addition to a further eight years at TUI earlier in her career, Jeannette was also a Government economist.

Hotel booking and payment solutions provider The Lido Group has announced the appointment of Martin Cowley, one of Australia’s most experienced travel industry execs, as its new chairman.

Over the past 30 years Cowley has held senior roles with travel giants including Cathay Pacific and Sabre Travel Network.

Currently he serves as a director and Board advisor to a variety of successful and innovative travel ventures, including global settlement solutions provider Conferma, experiential travel specialist Alquemie (formerly Wilderness Australia) and hotel commission recovery service Net Trans.

For the past two years Cowley has also served as a strategic advisor to The Lido Group Board, during which time the company has experienced significant growth by forging strong partnerships with some of Asia Pacific’s leading travel management companies (TMCs).

Cowley says he is looking forward to working more closely with The Lido Group’s talented management team, which includes managing director Steve Mackenzie and director of Operations Peter Beveridge, to ensure the company’s ongoing success.

“The Lido Group is on an exciting and sustained growth trajectory, underpinned by its ability to collaborate with leading travel management companies to meet the needs of major corporations and government organisations,” says Cowley.