New MD for Elegant Resorts
Thomas Cook UK and Ireland has appointed Nathan Philpot as managing director of Elegant Resorts
Currently director at WEXAS – The Traveller’s Club, he will join at the end of February and will report to Sue Biggs.
Prior to his role at WEXAS, Philpot worked with Biggs at Kuoni where he was head of marketing, introducing the operator’s Longhaul Diploma programme for agents and other travel trade initiatives.
Elegant Resorts’ former owners, Geoff Moss and Barbara Catchpole, will continue their relationship with the company as consultants, with Moss taking on the role of honorary chairman.
Philpot’s appointment completes a series of executive appointments over the last six months at Elegant Resorts by Biggs, who joined Thomas Cook from Kuoni last summer as MD of its scheduled businesses.
Following a review of the team that started in July 2008, Alison Scott, previously of ITC Classics, has taken the role of commercial director joining the existing team of Michelle Sephton, sales and operations director, Bruce Wildgust, IT director and Sharon Lloyd, head of finance.
WEXAS has promoted George Gibb to director of marketing to replace Philpot.
WEXAS MD Steve Allen said: “Whilst we’ll be sorry to see Nathan go after more than four years here, it’s a great move for him and we all wish him well.”
Gibb joined WEXAS as membership marketing manager last April from Classic FM and previously worked for Cosmos, Visit Britain and Visit Scotland in a variety of marketing roles.
He will focus on membership retention as well as developing the organisation’s web strategy with a re-launch of www.wexas.com planned this year.
The company has also promoted Gordon Mowatt to director of travel management.
Mowatt has been with WEXAS for 12 years and his promotion comes following the repositioning of the organisation’s corporate travel division to become WEXAS Travel Management.
By Bev Fearis
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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