PORT Philip Group managing director Andrew Bathe is retiring at the end of the year after 12 years in the role.
He will be replaced by deputy MD Sandra Leach, who joined the company as a travel consultant in the early 1980s.
Bathe’s departure comes two years after he sold the company, which owns Ausbound and Austravel, to Thomson for a reported £10m. He will remain as a consultant for Thomson.
A spokesman for Port Philip Group said: “Sandra was promoted to deputy four months ago in preparation for taking over from Andrew. It has been planned for some time.
“It is the start of a new millennium and Andrew thought it was an ideal time to go.”
Leach said one of her aims will be to look for innovative enhancements to its sales and reservations system, which would include exploiting the potential of the Internet.