New senior trade sales roles have been announced by Gold Medal and Travel 2.
Finance director Paul Smith, recently appointed interim chief executive for the two brands, has appointed Colin Currie as head of sales B2B for Gold Medal and Travel 2 while Karen Fletcher has been made head of trade support for both brands.
The restructure follows the sudden departure of five senior managers from the dnata Travel-owned brands last week.
Currie, previously senior key account manager, will lead the sales teams across both brands nationwide. The eight-strong key account managers will report directly into him.
Fletcher, former wholesale and Gold Medal agency sales manager, will oversee all sales support operations across the Preston and Glasgow offices.
Smith said that further senior sales team appointments would be announced in the next few weeks.
Of the appointments so far, he said: “Recruiting from within has always been key for our business and I am excited to be able to confirm two significant promotions to the senior sales team, maximising the existing talent of the Gold Medal and Travel 2 families.
“Both Colin and Karen have worked with the business for many years and I’m confident that their raft of knowledge and experience will be invaluable in their new roles.”
Smith said it was currently “business as usual” despite the changes within the business.
He said: “I am working alongside our exceptional team with our suppliers, partners and agents to deliver business as usual in terms of the support, incentives, product, service and events that Gold Medal and Travel 2 stand for.
“Both brands are performing incredibly well and we all look forward to continuing to drive these businesses forwards to deliver more for our travel agent partners.”
Dnata Travel senior divisional vice-president Iain Andrew told Travel Weekly this week that “nothing is on hold” and that if anything the business will look to invest more following the shock departure of managing director Andy Freeth, sales director Gordon McCreadie, product and commercial director Matt Appleby, head of sales Tracy Hirsz and business manager David Irving to join rival long-haul operator If Only.