ITC’s former director of agency sales Lee Marshall has been recruited by luxury tour operator Carrier.
Marshall left ITC and the travel industry in November last year to set up a consultancy business.
He will join Carrier in January on a consultancy basis with a focus on new business development as the operator looks to further bolster its commitment to trade partnerships. He will continue to work with other luxury brands under his Lee Marshall Consulting business.
Head of sales Rick Milne said the brand’s “operational excellence, financial stability, customer-centric refunds policy and continued efforts to provide genuine support to trade partners” had taken “trust in our brand to a new level”.
Milne said referrals from established agent partners had resulted in many new agents working with the brand, with up to 50% of bookings in recent months coming from new partners.
Mark Duguid, Carrier’s managing director, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Lee to the Carrier team during a pivotal time for the business.
“The exceptional service and support we provided to our trade partners during the pandemic has resulted in a huge increase in the number of agents looking to work with us and I am confident that Lee’s reputation and experience in the industry will be a great asset to us as we establish ourselves further as the trade’s preferred luxury operator.”
Marshall said: “Carrier is a deeply impressive business, with strong values and talented people, so I’m thoroughly delighted to be working with Rick, Mark and the team to further develop strategic trade relationships.
“I’ve long respected the Carrier brand, so it’s a privilege to work alongside this multi award-winning team. Now more than ever, it’s so important to choose your partners carefully and having seen first-hand how Carrier has operated during the Covid crisis tells me all I need to know – I can’t wait to get started.”