Management changes at Midcounties Co-operative
Mark Mitchell has joined the travel division of Midcounties Co-operative as head of product and commercial.
His appointment follows the resignation of Julie Kendrick, head of commercial and marketing, after eight years in the role and 21 years before that with Co-operative Travel Trading Group.
She is leaving to ‘pursue personal interests’.
"I am very sad to be bidding farewell to Midcounties Co-operative but the time feels right for me to take a step back for a period to focus on my personal pursuits," said Kendrick.
"I am extremely proud of the team I have built and of everything we have achieved together since I took the role with Midcounties Co-operative in 2012. Having joined United Co-op, aged 21, I’ve enjoyed an incredible 30-year career in the travel industry and would like to thank Alistair Rowland for his unwavering support in that time." 
Rowland, chief retail officer for specialist business at Midcounties Co-operative and chairman of ABTA, said: "Julie is one of the best Commercial leaders in the business and I have had the pleasure to work alongside her for almost 20 years. Most recently, Julie was pivotal in creating the commercial environment to allow Co-op Travel to be re-built in the Midcounties Co-operative way, a business that now transacts over £400 million. She remains hugely respected in the marketplace and we wish her well with whatever she chooses to do next."
Mitchell will be based at Midcounties Co-operative’s regional head office in Walsall, reporting into chief operating officer Rad Sofronijevic.
He will head up the commercial and product function for 58 high street travel agencies, 70 independent travel agencies, and 160 homeworkers and will also lead the growth of the Co-op Holidays programme.
He joins from Affinion International Travel where he has worked for 10 years and TUI prior to that.
He said: "I’ll be defining and driving the product and commercial strategy for Midcounties Co-operative’s travel division and look forward to re-connecting with supplier contacts old and new to mutually grow our businesses."
Midcounties Co-operative is also recruiting for a marketing manager and a commercial manager.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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