Secret Escapes founder and chief executive Alex Saint has become chairman of tours and experiences technology provider Holibob.
He joins former Expedia EMEA managing director Andreas Nau on the board of the company and Malcolm King, chief investment officer at Guinness Ventures, as part of a £3.5 million funding raise.
Saint replaces advertising industry veteran Richard Sowerby as chairman. Sowerby had been at the helm of the Holibob board since it was founded in London almost five years ago by Craig Everett and Angus Hardy.
The three new board members will play an active role in helping Holibob drive adoption of a suite of technologies designed to make it easy for destinations and travel brands to drive online bookings in the experiences sector, estimated to be worth more than £300 billion globally.
Holibob chief executive Everett said: “Having a chairman with Alex’s track record of success in the industry alongside such a deep understanding of our business – as he has been an informal advisor to us for a couple of years now – will provide immense and immediate value as we look to move into our next phase of growth.
“With his success as both an entrepreneur and an operator in the travel space, Alex brings an immense amount of expertise to the table. We’re excited to have his guidance and support as we work to transform the experiences industry.
“Richard has been an invaluable resource for guidance and leadership advice through these early days of Holibob, and we thank him immensely for all that he has done to get us to this stage in our growth”
Saint added: “It’s rare at this point in the travel industry’s lifecycle to find a company that is delivering a unique, powerful solution that responds to such a clear industry need.
“The opportunity to be part of bringing that to market, as well as working with such driven and capable founders as Craig and Angus, is also a rare one and made my decision to join Holibob as chairman and easy choice.”