Inghams parent Hotelplan UK has announced chief operating officer Paul Carter will become chief executive in a management shake-up.
The operator’s current chief executive Andy Perrin will become part-time chairman of the UK group as part of the changes to its management board.
The firm, which also owns the Inntravel, Esprit Ski, Ski Total, Santa’s Lapland, Explore and Regaldive, brands said the changes will come into effect from May 1.
Perrin said: “This is very much a case of evolution, not revolution. I’ve had seven challenging but fantastically enjoyable years as CEO, during which we have pulled away from the aftermath of the banking crash to build the successful and growing family of specialists that Hotelplan UK is today.
“Now I feel it’s time to address that notoriously tricky ‘work/life balance’, and to pass the baton on to Paul and our strong, experienced management team. I look forward to continued close involvement as Chairman with the team and the business, and to supporting them in our ambitions for further growth and development.”
Carter has been with Hotelplan UK since September 2015. Previously Chief operating officer at RCI and with managing director experience at Canvas Holidays (both part of the Wyndham Worldwide Group), he has been in the tour operating and hospitality sectors all his life.
Carter said: “It has been hugely exciting over the last 18 months to come back into the world of genuinely specialist tour operating and I am relishing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our Group.
“We have a wonderful team of people and some really rich and deep industry experience here, and I can’t wait to see all that we will achieve together over the coming years.”
Hotelplan Group chief executive, Thomas Stirnimann, added: “We owe huge thanks to Andy Perrin for his fantastic work this last seven years, and are delighted that he will be continuing with us as Hotelplan UK Chairman.
“We are equally happy to be able to appoint a successor in Paul Carter, who in the last 18 months has already made a significant contribution to the positive development of Hotelplan UK. We wish both our colleagues all the best for a smooth handover, and continued success for all our UK team.”