Ex-Tesco boss joins Travel Counsellors as chairman
Matt Davies, the ex-UK chief of Tesco, has been named the non-executive chairman of Travel Counsellors.
He has been responsible for the success of retail consumer brands including Pets at Home and Halfords.
In 2015, Davis (pictured with Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne) was appointed CEO of Tesco’s UK business, and was integral to the firm’s recent turnaround, culminating in the completion of a £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler Booker Group earlier this year.
He then became one of the FTSE 350’s youngest chairmen after being named chair of online retailer N Brown in February 2018.
The appointment of Davies comes as Travel Counsellors announces its 12th consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth, with average annual turnover growth of 18% over the past five years.
In the year to October 31 2017, total accounting turnover for the business rose to £217m, up 15 per cent on the £188m seen the year before.
These figures have been boosted by a strong start to 2018, with the business reporting that total bookings rose 12% in the first half of the year to hit £328m, and sales this year are on track to be in excess of £600m.
Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne said: "Matt has had a transformational impact on the retail sector, creating new standards of quality and building household names.
"This track record, combined with his commitment to customer service and passion for putting people at the heart of a business, makes him the ideal non-executive chairman for Travel Counsellors.
"We will continue to focus on attracting, developing and building a team of the very best talent to enable the company to scale, alongside the development of our technology platform to operate on a much bigger stage.
"Matt’s guidance, knowledge and experience will prove invaluable on this journey, as we strive to improve the level of service provided to both our franchisees and customers."
Davis said: "I’m delighted to be joining Travel Counsellors as chairman and I’m really looking forward to supporting Steve and the team in delivering world class travel experiences to customers across the globe.
"I have never met a team with such passion, energy and commitment to delivering for their customers and as obsessive about putting its people and customers at the epicentre of everything it does."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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