Influencer management platform Trending Travel has promoted Kieran Shew to managing director following a restructure.
He take over the role of managing director from company founder Keith Herman, who will remain as chief executive.
Shew will report to Herman and Sophie Foster, co-founder and director, and lead a team of 10 based primarily in the Trending Travel office in Manchester.
Other than a brief period in the brewing and hospitality sector, Shew’s entire career has been spent in the travel industry in a variety of senior sales and commercial roles with online brands including Cheapflights, Kayak, and Icelolly.
He joined Trending Travel as commercial director in January 2023, and has delivered influencer-led partnerships with Sandals, First Choice, Tui, Trip.com and Virgin Voyages.
Shew has led the company’s “strategic pivot” from tour operating to a media business, enabling brands to reach consumers who do not engage with traditional media channels.
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He said: “It’s impossible to ignore the power of social media and influencers in driving the behaviour of consumers of all age groups, and at Trending Travel we’re very proud of the work we’ve done in helping brands to optimise their profile in those channels.
“I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead our award-winning team in pursuit of our growth strategy, and am excited by the prospect of helping even more travel businesses to maximise their potential in what are the fastest growing and most exciting sectors of travel media.”
Herman added: “We’ve restructured because we can see that Trending Travel is about to enter its next stage of growth, and Kieran is exactly the right person to lead us through it.
“Now is the perfect time for him to step up so I can fully focus on telling our story to both clients and investors.
“I will continue to work closely with the team developing strategy whilst Kieran will take on full responsibility to deliver our unique proposition and maximise client satisfaction.”
In the coming months, Trending Travel plans more key appointments in its influencer team and new campaigns for clients in the Middle East, Indian Ocean, Caribbean and US.