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BOSS LADY: Fiona Dalton Appointed CEO For The Travel Corporation

Highly respected industry leader, Fiona Dalton has been appointed as the new CEO of Australia for The Travel Corporation (TTC) and will commence her new role in October 2020.

Highly respected industry leader, Fiona Dalton has been appointed as the new CEO of Australia for The Travel Corporation (TTC) and will commence her new role in October 2020.

Announcing the news this morning, TTC said that Australia’s current CEO John Veitch, will stay on until April and then, to ensure a smooth transition until Dalton starts, Lorraine Sharp will be returning to TTC as interim CEO until October.

With over 25 years’ experience across the retail, wholesale, hotels, corporate and cruise sector, Dalton moves from her current role, held for the last four years, of Managing Director for Uniworld Boutique River Cruises.

Prior to this, Dalton held positions as the General Manager of Sales for Qantas Holidays and its associated brands in helloworld, and Associate Director, Global Travel for Macquarie Group. She has led several business transformations and strategic sourcing projects, positioned businesses for turnaround and sustained growth, and developed or re-engineered business processes to support change management in the tourism sector.

Dalton has been a mentor to the TIME (Travel Industry Mentor Experience) program since 2016 and joined the board of TIME as Director in 2019. In 2017 she won the Women in Travel Award for the Cruise Sector, and in 2018 was voted Best Female Leader in Travel by the readers of Karryon.

Fiona Dalton is currently on a sabbatical to complete her MBA and will formally commence her role on October 2, 2020.

Fiona Dalton, GM Uniworld receiving her KARRYON Award

Fiona Dalton receiving her KARRYON Award in 2018

Fiona Dalton commented: “I am delighted to be appointed as the new CEO TTC Australia. It is an honour to take over the reins from John Veitch and to work with Brett and our superbly talented teams across the country to further enhance our market-leading position in Australia. Our brands stand for excellence, our partnerships have been built on trust and our people operate with great integrity. I am excited to work across these three areas to build on the successful foundations already in place for TTC, for many years to come.”

Speaking about Dalton’s appointment, Chief Executive of The Travel Corporation, Brett Tollman said, “We are pleased to appoint Fiona to this role – her capability covers a wide range of areas including strategic, general and financial management, coupled with strong communication, negotiation and commercial acumen. Teamed with Fiona’s strength and passion about the impact of effective leadership on businesses and leading people, both in relation to culture and commercial success, this will all be instrumental in her successful leadership, our relationships with agency partners, and to take Australia to new heights.”

Lorraine Sharp will return to take the seat of interim CEO until October 2, 2020. A highly regarded leader in travel, Sharp’s history with TTC has spanned close to 30 years having started as Head of Marketing for Trafalgar Australia, to becoming Vice President Sales & Marketing Contiki USA then.

Returning to Australia, Sharp became Managing Director for Insight Vacations for ten years until 2012, and then back in 2019 for maternity leave cover. Sharp stated: “I look forward to returning to TTC with such strong brands, team culture and engaging again with our travel agent partners.”

Lorraine Sharp,

Lorraine Sharp

John Veitch, the Australian CEO for The Travel Corporation, tendered his resignation last week to take up a role outside of the travel industry. John will be staying on for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition.

Brett Tollman, who is currently in Sydney to celebrate TTC’s 100th year anniversary, stated: “We thank John for his leadership and positive impact in leading TTC Australia these past 4.5 years. We wish him the very best in his new career as he embarks on a leadership role outside the travel industry. With change comes opportunity, and I am thrilled to announce the internal promotion of Fiona Dalton and welcome back distinguished industry leader Lorraine Sharp as part of the transition plan,”