Analysis: Who will succeed Alistair Rowland as Abta chair?

The Travel Convention in Mallorca which opens on Monday October 6 will be the last at which Alistair Rowland appears as chair of the Abta board as his third and final term in office is nearing an end.

A new chair will be appointed at a board meeting following Abta’s annual general meeting in December, with the candidates limited since a rule change in 2015 stipulates the board must select a chair from among its own members.

The board currently has 14 members, the maximum permitted, including Rowland – who will step down from the board at the end of his term.

Chief executive Mark Tanzer is an unlikely candidate for chair since he is accountable to the board and its chair, meaning he would become accountable to himself were he appointed.

There are currently three non-industry appointees on the board who are not Abta members – Minette Batters, former president of the National Farmers’ Union, ex-dnata Travel Group UK head Ailsa Pollard, and former Monarch chief executive Andrew Swaffield.

Abta’s articles of association do not explicitly state that the association’s chair must represent an Abta member. But paragraph 31 of the articles states:

“The office of the Chairman shall be vacated... if he, she or the individual, firm or corporation by virtue of whom or which he or she is deemed to be a Member of Abta ceases to be a Member.”

Abta says this does not mean the chair must be an Abta member, but at the very least it implies the chair is expected to be an association member.

There is no proscription on any board member, other than the departing chair, standing for the position. But in practice it is highly unlikely the board would appoint a senior executive of a major company to the role.

Such a move would almost certainly be perceived negatively by many members, could be seen as compromising the association’s independence and could risk friction on the board, to say nothing of upsetting the shareholders of the company the executive represents.

These are all good reasons why Abta has not made such an appointment in the past or sought such a figure to stand for election.

So, that would likely rule out Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy, easyJet Holidays chief executive Garry Wilson, Tui UK and Ireland managing director Neil Swanson and Celebrity Cruises international vice-president Giles Hawke from succeeding Rowland – leaving five potential candidates.

Daniele Broccoli, director of Britaly Travel and Typically Italian Holidays, has been a board member since 2006 and stood for election as chair in 2009 so could be a possibility.

However, it is rare for Abta to make any decision without the agreement of the whole board and, despite his experience, Broccoli is unlikely to have united board support.

Richard Slater of Henbury Travel, who joined the board in 2023 as Council of Regions representative, is also unlikely to attract sufficient support.

That would leave three possible appointees from among the 13 ‘candidates’.

One is Diverse World managing director Jamie Gardiner who joined the board in 2017 and represents tour operator (principal) members with turnover below £50 million a year. Having last been elected in 2023, Gardiner faces re-election in November if he is to remain a representative board member.

The second is Flight Centre group chief financial officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Adam Murray who joined the board in 2019 and was re-elected last year to represent members with retail turnover above £20 million.

The final possible appointee is Sunvil group managing director Chris Wright, who was appointed to the board last November. However, Travel Weekly understands Wright is unlikely to put himself forward given his responsibilities at Sunvil.

That would seem to leave Gardiner or Murray as the most likely candidates to succeed Rowland, unless both were to decline the role.

The board may have a slightly different composition by the time of the meeting to decide on the appointment, with two places coming up for election before the AGM on December 4.

One is for the representative of members with retail annual turnover less than £20 million – the position currently held by Broccoli – and the other for Gardiner’s position, with both men entitled to stand again.

The last chair of Abta to be directly elected by the members was Sunvil Holidays chairman Noel Josephides in 2013.

However, Rowland was an elected board member, representing retail members with turnover above £20 million, when he was appointed chair and it would make sense to appoint a chair who was elected to the board now.

Were an appointed board member chosen, it would be the first time an unelected director had chaired the association.

Abta noted at the time of the 2015 rule change, and its switch from a chair elected by the membership to one appointed by the board, that: “This reflects the increasingly technical demands of the chairman role and is a model commonly used in organisations to ensure efficient running of the board.”

Josephides, who chaired the association at the time of the change, reported the board was “unanimous” in support of the decision. The board will aim to be just as unanimous in deciding its next chair.

The Travel Convention 2025, October 6-8.

abta.com/events/the-travel-convention