Thomas Cook managing director Chris Mottershead has been confirmed as a speaker at this year’s Abta Travel Convention in Abu Dhabi.
The annual overseas conference will see around 500 travel delegates meet in the emirate’s Yas Island for the three day conference on October 10-12. Travel Weekly is the trade media partner.
In a session called ‘Travel 360 with Chris Mottershead’, the former Airtours managing director will discuss key developments in travel in recent years.
From technological innovations to changes in customer demand, Mottershead will offer his reflections on the past, present and future of travel after a year at the helm of the UK’s oldest holiday company.
Mottershead has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the travel industry since starting as group finance director 
at Aspro Travel, prior to joining Airtours Holidays in 1993.
He was later promoted to managing director of Airtours Holidays and subsequently became president and chief executive of its North American division. In late 2001, he became managing director of Tui UK, a position he held for almost three years.
Between 2005 and 2009, Mottershead spent time working outside the major travel companies when he founded and was chief executive of Travelzest, an acquisitive AIM listed company which acquired a number of niche operators and online travel retailers.
In 2009, he relocated to Toronto where he became First Choice Canada chief executive and then relocated to Moscow to take up the role of Tui Russia & CIS managing director.
Mottershead joined Thomas Cook in April 2015 and was promoted into his current role of managing director for Thomas Cook Group’s UK & Ireland business in September 2015.