Hays Travel Independence Group has appointed a new business development manager to focus on agencies in the centre of the country.
Kelly Green joins the agency consortium’s existing business development managers Harriet Thompson and Helen Williamson, who cover the north and south divisions of the country respectively.
Her appointment follows a 12% increase in consortium members over the last year, with a mix of established agencies and new start-ups.
More: Hays Travel sales hit January 2020 levels for first time since Covid
Green has 14 years’ experience in Lloyds financial services prior to joining the travel industry, where she has worked for Tui in retail for five years and for the last two years, at Hays Travel.
She said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this new role for the Independence Group helping our existing and new members continue to grow, bringing my experience and the extensive resources of the group to support them.
“I’m especially looking forward to meeting many of our members at the annual conference in Tenerife later this month.”
The consortium provides support to a range of travel businesses in terms of commercial terms, travel technology, back-office systems and support from industry experts.
Natasha Marson, head of the Independence Group, said: “Kelly has a superb skill set to be able to support both our existing and new members who are keen on joining, drawing on her front-line experience of selling and managing financial services and retail travel branches.
“Her strong background in business development, budgeting and forecasting will be a valuable resource for our existing members as they look to rebuild their business in 2022.”
She added: “It is important to me that we provide full support to our existing members following the pandemic, while encouraging the growth of the group. There are many businesses that welcome our help, as well as many new entrepreneurs who wish to capitalise on the bounce back of travel.”