Sue Biggs leaves Kuoni in restructuring – UPDATED
Kuoni UK managing director Sue Biggs, one of the most well known figures in the UK travel trade, is stepping down after 25 years with the operator as part of a major shake-up by the Swiss parent company.
Deputy m-d and finance director Mark Norman, with the company for seven years, will lead the UK divison on an interim basis.
Details of Biggs’ successor “will be communicated at a later date,” a statement said.
It went onto say the group executive board “thanks Sue Biggs for all the work, enthusiasm and commitment that she has brought to Kuoni over the past 25 years, and offers her every good wish for the future”.
A Kuoni spokesman declined to elaborate further on the reasons for Biggs’ departure or whether her full-time successor would be an internal or external appointment.
The changes come as Kuoni Travel Holding changes its geographically-based organisation into a business-driven divisional structure.
Three new strategic business divisions have been established, with Kuoni UK being assilimated into the Style division (for brand and service-driven products), the company said.
The other divisions are Smart (for vacations that primarily offer value for money) and Destinations (for local land arrangements).
The Style division, to be headed by Reto Wilhelm, accommodates all group activities which focus on top-class customer serivice “and the closest possible alignment to specific customer needs,” the statement said.
The division is home to the core Kuoni brand and all specialist brands “that are a byword for tailored customer focus”.
Each of the divisions “will strive to employ these brands to achieve market leadership within its business segment,” Kuoni said.
A Spirit business unit is also being established for “innovative business models” such as Shoestring International.
The heads of the three strategic business divisions will sit on the group executive board togtehr with group CEO Armin Meier and group CFO Max Katz and the existing management board is being dissolved.
“No workforce reductions are envisaged,” Kuoni said.
The changes follow the appointment on June 1 of Remo Masla as head of brand and marketing, reporting to Meier. Masala wil be responsible for further development of the group-wide brand portfolio in each specific business segment.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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