Who got a new gig this week? Check out this week’s travel industry Movers and Shakers.
Emirates Appoints Rob Gurney Divisional VP Australasia
Emirates has announced the appointment of Robert Gurney as its Divisional Vice President, Commercial Operations, Australasia. Mr Gurney will join the organisation on 1st October 2014 and will be based in the Sydney office.
Mr Gurney has held a number of senior aviation and industry positions and joins Emirates from his most recent role as CEO of the helloworld group.
The appointment will see him responsible for Emirates’ operations within one of its top three regions in terms of revenue and passenger traffic. He will manage the key areas of Australia and New Zealand and will also assume local responsibility for Emirates’ partnership with Qantas. Bryan Banston, who is currently Vice President Australasia, has elected to leave the company.
“I thank Bryan for his sterling contribution as he passes the ‘baton’ to Rob with Emirates in excellent shape in the South Pacific,”
Barry Brown, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations East
Bryan will leave the company on the 10th October.
American Express Global Business Travel’s new CTO
American Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) today announced the appointment of Philippe Chereque as Chief Technology Officer. Philippe, who joins GBT from Amadeus Technology Group SA, will lead GBT’s technology strategy and innovation with a focus on core platforms and critical path products.
Bill Glenn, President and CEO of American Express Global Business Travel, said: “For us, technology is an enabler to deliver differentiated and evolving value to our customers and their travellers. With his strong track record in cutting edge product delivery, Philippe is uniquely suited to ensure that GBT’s technologies address current and anticipated customer needs. In particular, Philippe and his team will expand key differentiators such as platform optimisation and GDS connectivity, as well as newer technologies that will facilitate greater mobile and tablet functionality to meet the growing trend of consumerisation in the industry.
“Technology and innovation are at the heart of our plans for growth and I am delighted to have someone with such extensive experience across a wide range of industry innovations at the helm of our technology strategies.”
Mr Chereque previously held the role of Executive Vice President of Commercial at Amadeus Technology Group SA, where he led the worldwide implementation of Amadeus Technology’s commercial strategy. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, responsible for driving and coordinating the company’s business development, marketing, technical architecture and product plan. Mr Chereque joined Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A. as one of the founders in 1987.
IHG appoints Director of Key Accounts for New Zealand
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has appointed Julie White as its new Director of Key Accounts for New Zealand. Julie will be based at InterContinental Wellington, reporting to Paul Rushton, Director of National Sales – Australasia. In her new role, Julie’s responsibility will be to lead the IHG National Sales Organisation team in NZ, increasing preference for IHG properties in Australasia across major NZ accounts. She will also manage the Professional Conference Organisers for IHG within NZ.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Economics from James Cook University, as well as a wealth of expertise in client management. She brings with her seven years of account sales experience from across the travel and hospitality sectors, including a previous role with IHG as Business Development Director based in Auckland. Julie’s career includes working with brands such as Crown, Rydges and Air New Zealand Tandem Travel.
On the new appointment, IHG Director of Regional Sales Australasia, Jenny Morrell said, “I am extremely happy to have someone of Julie’s calibre assuming this role with IHG in NZ. Julie is highly results-driven, people-focussed and a seasoned client management professional. Her in-depth knowledge and understanding of client needs means she will be a huge asset to us. We look forward to supporting Julie in her new position.”
Commenting on her appointment, Julie White said, “I am delighted to be a part of the IHG family once again. The company has a passion for delivering exceptional services to its clients, so it’s an exciting time to be helping build the business in NZ. I look forward to being part of that and to supporting the sales team in delivering great experiences for our guests.”
Peter Beveridge joins Lido Group as Director of Operations
Leading hotel booking and payment solutions provider The Lido Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Beveridge to the newly-created position of Director of Operations, effective immediately.
The Lido Group provides fully-integrated accommodation booking and payment solutions to some of Australia’s major corporations and government organisations, either direct or in partnership with elite travel management companies. Beveridge is now responsible for optimising the development and performance of the Group’s patented technology and innovative operational procedures, in order to support its current and future growth.
Based in the company’s Sydney headquarters, he will also oversee the integration of all new clients and business partners. Beveridge is well known to the Australian travel industry after having held a number of executive positions over the past 10 years. Most recently he spent almost five years as Chief Information Officer at Jetset Travelworld Group (now Helloworld), prior to which he was Global Solutions Manager at Stella Travel Services and Head of Operations at Sabre Pacific.
The Lido Group Managing Director Steve Mackenzie says Beveridge is a valuable addition to the executive team.
“Peter’s vast technology and operational experience, coupled with his proven planning and execution abilities, are exactly what Lido needs as we respond to a period of significant and rapid expansion,”
The Lido Group Managing Director Steve Mackenzie
Virtuoso appoints new Business Development Manager
Leading global luxury travel network, Virtuoso®, has appointed Katie Nodland as Business Development Manager, Asia Pacific, responsible for supporting the group’s travel agency members throughout Australia and New Zealand. In this new, full-time, role Katie will be responsible for servicing Virtuoso members in the region, assisting them with maximizing the benefits of the Virtuso brand and providing ongoing training and sales support.
Michael Londregan, Managing Director, Virtuoso Asia Pacific said: “As we continue to experience growth in the higher-end of the travel market, we need to support our members with specialist staff who are equipped to ensure Virtuoso maintains its position as the most powerful network in the luxury travel segment. Katie brings to the organisation a wealth of experience in developing markets and supporting agency partners.
“In addition, her international experience, having lived and worked in the United States and South America and her past experience in luxury travel, will be of great benefit as we expand the Virtuoso network into Asia over the next twelve months.”
With a degree from the University of Iowa in Business Administration, Nodland comes to Virtuso from leading luxury travel consultancies dm AFRICA, dm ASIA and JG Black Book in New York.