In a massive shake-up at the top of Express Travel Group (ETG), Helloworld Travel (HLO) has announced that ETG Founder, CEO and Director Tom Manwaring will step down from his current roles on 30 June 2025.
But don’t expect Manwaring to simply “ride off into the sunset” (as Tom put it in an interview with Karryon at the most recent ETG conference). While he will no longer be spearheading the organisation, Manwaring will continue to serve as non-executive Chairman of ETG/FTG and within the broader HLO Group, which bought ETG in 2023.
Current ETG General Manager Sales and Marketing Jason Aghan will assume the position of Group General Manager ETG effective 1 July 2025, from which point all ETG/FTG (First Travel Group) senior management team members will report to Aghan.
The new ETG boss joined the group seven years ago after a successful career in aviation management – and HLO says Aghan was instrumental in growing the business and expanding ETG’s agency networks.
Manwaring, a travel industry icon who also served as a long-time chair of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) and Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) before that, said Aghan would be “the best person to lead our network of members into the next chapter of its success”.
“I am proud of the network and the legacy it [ETG/FTG] will continue to have in the travel industry,” he remarked. “I am also delighted to be taking on a role that allows me to be involved with the business across Australia and New Zealand.”
Helloworld Travel CEO and Managing Director Andrew Burnes AO echoed Manwaring’s comments, saying Aghan is perfectly suited for the role.
“Jason already sits on the executive management team of HLO, and I congratulate him on the outstanding job he has done since ETG became a part of HLO and on his promotion to this position,” he stated.
After buying ETG in 2003, Manwaring grew the company from a small VFR business into a major travel distributor.
“I’ve been in travel for 55 years – 30 years in the airline industry, and now 25 with the agency side. It’s not only in mine, but my wife’s [Julie] blood,” Manwaring told Karryon in an interview at ETG’s 2024 conference in Vietnam.
“ETG and FTG… I feel personally responsible for. I know I shouldn’t, but that’s just the way I’m built.”
What’s next for ETG? Watch this space.
