Former Thomas Cook finance director Ian Ailles is poised for a return to the firm as part of a senior level shake-up following the merger of its retail division with The Co-operative Travel.
He will join following the departure of 120 managerial staff who have left in the past six weeks, part of the 500 jobs that have been cut in the restructure to save costs. The majority involve the scrapping of vacant posts. Thomas Cook insisted no customer-facing staff had taken redundancy.
Ailles, who spent a decade with Thomas Cook before leaving in December 2006, is lined up to be the new chief executive of its mainstream division. He joins the company on January 8, 2011.
He will be responsible for the company’s mainstream charter tour operations (Thomas Cook, Airtours, Direct Holidays, Sunset and Manos) and its 43-strong airline fleet.
Ailles is currently managing director at vacation exchange and rental firm RCI Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide Group that bought Hoseaons earlier this year. He is also chairman of the Federation of Tour Operators.
Prior to his departure from Thomas Cook he was managing director of its specialist division, which included Neilson and Club 18-30.
Manny Fontenla-Novoa, group chief executive of Thomas Cook Group, said: “I’m so pleased that Ian is joining us again at this exciting time for the business and very much look forward to working with him again.”
The Cook-Co-op merger, which is still subject to regulatory approval, will see current UK chief executive Ian Derbyshire run the standalone retail joint venture. Cook is restructuring its management team at its Peterborough head office to cover Derbyshire’s tour operating and other operational responsibilities.