Abta will appoint a new chairman following the association’s Travel Matters policy conference in London this morning.
Current Abta chairman Noel Josephides will stand down after six years in the role and a new chairman elected by the board from among its own members.
The board comprises 13, including Josephides and Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer, but not all are eligible for the role as the chairman must be an Abta member.
Two board members, Baroness Stowell – former leader of the House of Lords – and Amanda Campbell, chief executive of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman, were appointed from beyond the industry.
Abta members on the board include Kathryn Darbandi (Thomas Cook), Richard Sofer (Tui Group), Richard Downs (Iglu.com), Stuart Leven (RCL Cruises), John Bevan (Dnata Travel Europe) and Derek Jones (DER Touristik UK). These six were all appointed.
Three board members aside from Josephides stood for election by Abta members – Alistair Rowland (Midcounties Co-operative), Daniele Broccoli (Britaly Travel) and Jamie Gardiner (Diverse World).
Josephides was elected chairman in July 2013 following a contested vote and became the first Abta chair to serve three, two-year terms following a change to the rules in late 2015 which made the post one appointed by the board rather than elected by members.
Abta noted at the time: “This reflects the increasingly technical demands of the chairman role and is a model commonly used in organisations to ensure the efficient running of the board.”
At the time of his election, Josephides pledged: “I hope to be as straightforward as I can about the way things are done and why, and I will try to attend as many regional meetings as I can.”
He proved a popular and exceptionally hardworking chairman, attending an unprecedented number of meetings.
Josephides said subsequently: “People imagine the chairman to be like the old Abta president, but it is a very different role. The complexity of what Abta deals with is probably incomprehensible to most people outside the organisation.”
Abta moved from having a president to a chairman in 2009 when the requirement for candidates to be nominated and seconded by board members was introduced.
