Meon Valley Travel owner James Beagrie is to rejoin the board of the Advantage Travel Partnership in May.
Beagrie (pictured, left) previously served on the Advantage board from 2013 to 2018 and has been owner of Meon Valley Travel since 2002. Two other non-executive member directors, Baldwins Travel’s Chris Marks (right) and Worldwide Travel Solutions’ Sharon May (centre), were re-appointed to the board following an election.
Beagrie, who is a former managing director of insurance specialist AON UK and founder of the Association of Travel Insurance Intermediaries, said: “As travel sets to recover from this overwhelming pandemic, we expect a more challenging landscape and Advantage members will need knowledgeable support to face this head-on.
“In this current climate, I look forward to making a distinct contribution and helping members navigate through this period while supporting Julia and the wider team to achieve the business’ strategic goals.”
Beagrie will join Marks in representing business travel members, while May was elected in the leisure travel category.
Marks said: “I am honoured to be re-elected to the board and thank the membership for their vote of confidence in me. The collective board is very strong and well represented with an excellent cross section of member types and business leaders.
“I look forward to helping support the executive team in their drive to survive and thrive for Advantage and all our members through this incredibly challenging period.”
May said: “I am delighted to be re-elected to the Advantage’s board of directors. I am very much looking forward to supporting [chief executive] Julia [Lo Bue-Said] and her executive team in shaping the future of Advantage.”
Steven Esom, Advantage chairman, added: “Advantage Travel Partnership is an organisation run with our members’ needs at the heart of everything we do. At board level, our non-executive directors play a crucial role, in working with the executive team in helping to shape the strategic future of Advantage.”
Beagrie, Marks and May will join four other members on the board. They are Jeanne Lally, Travel Bureau; Joanne Dooey, Love to Travel; Suzanne Horner, Gray Dawes Group; and Paul Hardwick, Fred Olsen Travel.