New UK chief for Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook has drafted in a new UK chief as part of a major management reshuffle.
It is believed this is only the first phase of a shake-up of the business under new group CEO Harriet Green.
From November 1, Ian Ailles and Phil Aird-Mash will report into Peter Fankhauser.
Fankhauser, who is already responsible for the group’s German-speaking Continental divisions, will take responsibility for the UK & Ireland business.
He is a Swiss national based in Germany, but when he takes on the UK role he will spend 80% of his time in the UK
He has been briefed to simplify the UK’s operating structure and accelerate its ongoing turnaround plan.
Green said: "Transforming the performance of our UK & Ireland business will, in essence, transform the Thomas Cook Group’s performance overall.
"Peter has extensive experience and proven track record of successfully leading and transforming businesses and I’m confident that by bringing our UK and Continental European operations together we will achieve far greater synergies for the group and significantly improve operational efficiency, the sharing of best practice and driving out siloed behaviour."
Meanwhile, Pete Constanti will take up the new role of chief people officer with immediate effect.
Reporting to Green, he will oversee HR and learning and development functions in each region, and will continue to lead group destination management.
Other changes announced today include:
– Joint chief information officers (CIOs), Reinhard Eschbach (currently CIO TC Germany) and Mariano Albera (currently CIO TC OTA) will align the group’s traditional IT systems with a web-enabled focus for the future.
– Michael Tenzer will now lead the German speaking markets as managing director Germany.
– Reto Wilhelm has been appointed managing director, East & West, responsible for The Netherlands, Belgium and Eastern Europe, including the Russian business. Wilhelm previous held international, executive level roles at Kuoni and the airline, Swiss.
– Jenny Peters has joined the company and will report directly to Harriet Green as group head of communications. She worked with Green at Premier Farnell. Peters will be responsible for internal communications and external public relations across all segments.
– James Sandford, currently integration director in the UK’s retail joint venture, has been appointed as programme management director, reporting directly to Green.
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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