Advantage, RateHawk, Intrepid: all the latest travel trade people moves

Scott Dunn chief executive Sonia Davies is to leave the company later this year, ending her six-and-a-half year stint at the operator. The brand said: “We can confirm Sonia Davies will be stepping down from her position as chief executive officer at Scott Dunn later this year. The entire team at Scott Dunn and Flight Centre Travel Group extend their enormous gratitude to Sonia for her leadership and contribution to the business.” During her time at the company, Davies oversaw Flight Centre Travel Group’s acquisition of Scott Dunn last year and spelled out an aim to increase the firm's focus on agents.

RateHawk has hired Iain Raeper as its new area manager for Scotland, expanding its commercial team. Raeper has previously held senior positions in sales, business development and partnerships with If Only, EFR Travel Group and ONEE Luxury Travel. In his new role, Raeper will focus on customer acquisition, key account support and building relationships with the trade in Scotland.

Travel trade parental support group Back in Time for Bed (BITFB) has named four well-known industry professionals to its first “board of parents” to support the group’s growth ambitions. The board members are Berry Consulting’s Julie Berry, Club Med’s Jemma Bridges, Celebrity Cruises’ Michael Young-Richards and DoSomethingDifferent’s Lucy Paterson. Riviera Travel’s Vicky Billing said her and fellow BITFB co-founder Anna Perrott, Panache Cruises’ partnerships director, had been “overwhelmed” by the industry’s response to the group, which was formed in February 2023.

Exodus Adventure Travels has hired a new marketing director with a view to “further establishing Exodus as the leading brand for responsible adventure travel”. Jason Gray joins the operator from menswear brand Charles Tyrwhitt and will oversee Exodus’s marketing team of 28, as well as setting and delivering the group’s marketing strategy. Gray said Exodus had “an excellent opportunity to grow even further over the next few years, particularly in the UK and North American markets”.

Global luxury travel network Virtuoso has expanded its senior leadership team with the appointment of Paul Kearney as senior vice-president for technology. The move comes as Virtuoso realigns its senior leadership for its digital, network and events product divisions. It insisted the changes would “strengthen Virtuoso’s commitment to growth, innovation and serving the diverse needs of global luxury consumers, agency members and preferred partners”.

The Advantage Travel Partnership has recruited Simon Ferguson, a former senior vice-president at Modaxo, a global technology provider working within the transportation and aviation sectors. In his new technology advisor role, Ferguson will operate as an independent advisor to Advantage Global Business Travel. He will work closely with Advantage's technology partnership manager Stephen Baxendale. Ferguson will also provide support with horizon scanning and assessing new and upcoming relevant technology enhancements. He spoke at this year's Advantage conference in Cancun.

Distribution platform TBO.com hopes to “take the company to the next phase of its evolution” with the appointment of Gerardo Del Rio as international business president. Del Rio brings more than 20 years experience from the hospitality, travel and consulting sectors, his expertise spanning global management, finance and business development. Prior to joining TBO, he worked for Melia Hotels, Hotelbeds and DidaTravel in different capacities. In his new role, Del Rio will focus on strengthening the company’s presence in existing markets while strategically entering news ones.