AIRTOURS Holidays managing director Chris Mottershead is relocating to Toronto to take over the running of the group’s North American Leisure Group from Leo Desrochers.
Mottershead will spend three years in Canada and be replaced in the UK by current deputy MDRichard Carrick.
The changes will be announced at Airtours’ results on Wednesday along with the promotion of group finance director Tim Byrne to group MD(Travel Weekly October 11).
Mottershead is seen as the man to revive NALG, which lost £1.1m in the year to September 30 1998.
Analysts expect Airtours to announce profits of £155m in the year to September 30, compared with £140.3m last year. A good performance in Scandinavia will compensate for a difficult year in the UK.
Airtours refused to comment but confirmed the appointment of Jane Richards, Thomson’s regional sales manager for the south. She will join the Helmshore-based operator in January in a similar role. Former Jetset and Carlson Worldchoice marketing manager Claire MacNair has become Airtours’ first area sales manager for Scotland while northwest area sales manager Sally Bremend has been promoted to the new post of office general manager.