New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Accelya
Accelya has appointed John Johnston as group chief executive officer. His induction in Accelya’s leadership team is a part of the succession plan of Philippe Lesueur, president, Accelya Group, who will continue to remain on the Board of Accelya companies and serve as an advisor. Johnston was until recently, chief executive officer of Champ Cargosystems and has been responsible for the creation and growth of Champ Cargosystems into one of the world’s largest dedicated IT providers to the aircargo industry. During his career, Johnston has held senior executive positions in several countries and has provided senior management and consulting services to a number of global airlines.
Telangana Tourism Development Corporation
Government of Telangana has appointed Pervaram Ramulu, IPS (Retd.) as chairman of Telangana Tourism Development Corporation with the status of cabinet minister in the state. The appointment is for a term of three years from the date of his assuming charge.
Egencia
Egencia has announced the appointment of Amit Arora as country director, Egencia India. His previous positions include serving as the head of commercial and operations — North and East India for Etihad Airways and head of client management at American Express Business Travel. Arora has over 17 years of experience in India’s travel industry, the last 10 of which have been in a number of leadership positions. He earned an undergraduate degree in commerce from Delhi University, and a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor has appointed Irene Sung to the newly created role of head of client development, Asia Pacific. Based in TripAdvisor’s regional Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, Sung will be responsible for formulating business strategies in key verticals for TripAdvisor Display Advertising as well as managing key client relations to help them improve their understanding and utilisation of TripAdvisor offerings. Prior to TripAdvisor, she was head of branding at Google and as Google’s pioneer sales employee in Singapore, she was instrumental in propelling Google’s presence in Asia Pacific and accelerating Google’s online sales revenue over the years. Sung graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science with double majors in Mathematics and Biology.
SAS
Lars Sandahl Sorensen has been confirmed as the new group director and COO of SAS. The appointment is effective May 1, 2015. Sorensen was previously group director and CCO of global services company ISS. Prior to that he worked for SAS from 2003 to 2010. He was initially MD of the airline’s then subsidiary company SAS International before being appointed group director for commercial with responsibility for product development, network, revenue management and marketing. Sorensen is currently a partner at Flensby & Partners and advisor to several private equity funds. He also holds a number of board positions.
Tourism Northern Ireland
Terence Brannigan has been appointed as chairman of the Board of Tourism Northern Ireland with effect from April 1, 2015. His appointment is for a three year period. Three board members have also been appointed. Colin Neill and Michele Shirlow have been appointed with effect from January 1, 2015 and Geoff Wilson has been appointed with effect from March 1, 2015. All are for a three year period. Katy Best has been re-appointed to the board with effect from February 1,2015 for a period of three years.
Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia has announced the appointment of Andrew Hogg as regional general manager, Greater China. Hogg has spent more than 25 years with Qantas Airways, where he held his latest position as general manager of China since 2011. He has also had a number of other senior roles covering finance, sales, marketing and operations.
Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Scott Allison, chairperson (interim) of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) Board of Directors, congratulated Charlotte Bell on her appointment as the new president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). With more than 25 years of experience in regulatory, corporate and government affairs, Bell is a seasoned executive bringing a wealth of experience and proven track record of success leading regulatory change in the broadcast sector. One of Bell’s first major projects will be collaborating with CTC on the upcoming Rendez-vous Canada, the Canadian travel industry’s principal international tourism marketplace.
Etihad Airways
Amer Khan has been appointed to the position of regional general manager for Middle East and North Africa, and will be responsible for managing Etihad Airways’ commercial operations across 16 countries from the airline’s base in Abu Dhabi. With more than 14 years’ experience in the travel industry, he joined Etihad Airways in 2009 as country manager in Pakistan, and moved onto the role of area general manager for Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Khan began his career with South African Airways in the UK before moving onto American Airlines where he served as the regional manager for the Middle East and Pakistan based in the UK and UAE.
Ronny de Lange, who has held numerous commercial roles in his four years with Etihad Airways, has been named vice president – global corporate account management. In his new role, based in Abu Dhabi, he will manage the airline’s multinational accounts worldwide.
Etihad Airways has appointed John Friel as general manager for South Africa. Based in Johannesburg, Friel will be responsible for leading Etihad Airways’ commercial operations in South Africa as it continues to grow its presence and operations across the region. He joined Etihad Airways in June 2014 as regional business development manager in South Africa.
The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa Mauritius
Tristan Blandin de Chalain has been apponited as executive assistant manager at The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa Mauritius. In this role, Chalain will oversee the management and operations of the 190 room resort. Chalain is well-known within the Mauritius hotel sector and has a background in hotel operations, specialising in food and beverage. Upon completion of his Diploma in Tourism & Hotel Management at ML Sultan Hotel School, Durban South Africa and Shatec Singapore Hotel School, Chalain started his career as room service manager at Lux Belle Mare Resort, Mauritius.