Thomas Cook boss Pichler quits

THOMAS Cook chairman and chief executive Stefan Pichler and chief finance officer Norbert Kickum have resigned following a tough year in which attempts to turn the group around failed.

Supervisory board members Peter Gerard, of German retail chain KarstadtQuelle, and Karl-Ludwid Kley, of Deutsche Lufthansa, have been appointed interim chief executive and chief finance officer respectively.

They have both relinquished their positions on the board.

Peter Fankhauser, on the executive board of Thomas Cook and responsible for product, will take the post of interim HR director.

The group – controlled by KarstadtQuelle and Lufthansa – is expected to post a loss of 80 million euros for its year to October 31 2003, compared to 20 million euros for the same period last year. Full year results are not due until next March.