Steven Reilly to head up Explorer Travel

Reilly joined Hays following Cook’s collapse in September 2019 and the subsequent acquisition of the iconic travel firm’s retail arm by Hays a month later.

He steps up to the role at Explorer, which was acquired by Hays in June having previously been a member of its Independence Group, from his current post of regional sales manager – east Scotland.

Hays said Reilly would bring more than 30 years’ retail travel experience to the role, 15 of which he has spent in regional manager posts.

As franchise general manager, Reilly will be responsible for the day-to-day management and business development of Explorer’s franchise division.

This includes the end-to-end recruitment of new franchisees, as well as supporting franchisees in building their business and databases, while also offering a range of tailored training and business development sessions.

Explorer admin manager Deborah Gannon and operations manager Steve Heaton have also both been employed by Hays in new business development roles to support Reilly.