Virgin Holidays has confirmed the appointment of Siobhan Fitzpatrick to lead the agency business and the departure of managing director Joe Thompson.
In an expanded role, Fitzpatrick has been promoted to senior vice president Virgin Holidays and digital from her previous position of vice president digital and distribution at the group’s airline Virgin Atlantic.
She will continue to oversee the digital development and transformation of both brands, as well as lead the Virgin Holidays business, which aims to become ‘the UK’s most loved travel company’.
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Before joining Virgin Atlantic, Fitzpatrick spent 15 years in retail with Argos and Homebase. The agency said her background includes digital commerce and transformation, customer experience and marketing.
She said: “I’m delighted to be taking on the role of SVP, Virgin Holidays and digital and I’m committed to building on the fantastic momentum and substantial contributions that Joe Thompson, along with the wider Virgin Holidays team have achieved, whilst continuing to grow the digital business across both brands.
“My passions lie in creating a truly seamless experience for customers, delivered through a mix of amazing people and great technology, which we have in abundance at Virgin Holidays. As a proud retailer at heart, I’m looking forward to developing our unique customer journey, whilst continuing to put our customers and people at the centre of everything we do.”
Thompson was appointed managing director of Virgin Holidays in July 2017, when he replaced Mark Anderson – who now heads up Connect Airways, the Virgin-led consortium that acquired regional carrier Flybe.
Before taking the role, Thompson spent 14 years at Virgin Atlantic in leadership positions across commercial and customer service-focused functions, including airport operations, network and alliances and sales and distribution.