Peter Whittle leaves Traveltek

Whittle departs after 12 years with the travel technology specialist to pursue other interests, which will include working with a UK charity for the homeless.

In a statement, Traveltek said he had “played a significant role [in] transforming the business into the success story it is today”.

As part of its restructure, three regional senior vice-presidents have been appointed, one of whom is a well-known travel industry figure “whose identity will be revealed soon”, Traveltek said.

Among them is cruise industry veteran Francis Riley, who was previously appointed as senior vice-president sales for the Americas based in Miami, while Paul Millan has been promoted from regional director to senior vice-president sales Asia Pacific and will divide his time between the company’s Singapore, Sydney and Hong Kong offices.

The third regional head, responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa will join the firm in August.

Kenny Picken, president and chief executive of Traveltek Group, said: “As we embark on a new era of unprecedented business development in key regional markets around the world, I am confident our three highly-experienced senior vice-presidents will be the driving force we need to take Traveltek to the next level.

“At the same time, we’re sad to be losing Peter Whittle, an exceptional sales talent and a good friend who has helped [to] lay the foundations for our global expansion strategy.

“As he enters a new chapter of his life, just as we mark a new dawn for our business, we bid him a fond farewell and wish him every success in his future endeavours.”

During his tenure with Traveltek, Whittle helped the company open new sales offices around the world and grow its sales team from three to 16 globally.

He also oversaw year-on-year revenue increases and was part of the team that secured the company’s £5.3 million capital injection from private equity fund manager YFM in 2016.

“I’ve spent 12 fantastic years at Traveltek. I’ve visited more than 40 countries, met some great people and worked hard to grow the business. It’s now time for me to take on a new challenge,” added Whittle.