Tui has confirmed the departure of former chief executive and deputy chairman Peter Long from the group’s supervisory board.
Long stepped down from the board at Tui’s annual general meeting (AGM) on March 25 at the expiry of his term of office as deputy chairman.
Tui executive board member Dave Burling now remains the only former Tui Travel, Thomson or First Choice executive in a senior position at the group.
Long was chief executive of First Choice when German group Tui AG, which already owned Thomson, acquired the company in 2007. He took over as head of Tui Travel following the merger of the companies and establishment of the group which was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Tui AG retained a controlling stake and the German and UK-listed groups subsequently merged again in 2014 when Fritz Joussen, who by then headed Tui AG, took over as chief executive of the Tui Group.
Joussen expressed thanks and paid tribute to Long at the AGM, citing their long experience of working together.
Long’s place and that of fellow supervisory board member Angelika Gifford, who also stepped down, were taken by Jutta Dönges and Janina Kugel, appointees of the German government.
The reservation of two places on the supervisory board was among the conditions attached to a €1.8 billion aid package the group agreed with the German government in January.
Joussen noted: “The aid did not come as a gift.” But he added: “We are in a position to bear this burden and to repay it.”