Two top-level departures as Tui Group sets course on next stage of transformation

A senior level restructure at Tui Group will see two directors depart the business as part of a streamlining exercise.

 

Markets and airline division chief executive David Schelp and holiday experiences and chief strategy officer Peter Krueger will leave the pan-European travel group on April 30.

 

They are stepping down from the executive board “some months ahead” of the scheduled end of their appointments “in view of the transformation measures they have successfully implemented and the rapidly advancing restructuring of the group”.

 

Former Tui airline chief executive and chief transformation officer Marco Ciomperlik, who has been with the group since 2016, has been named in the newly-created role of chief operating officer.

 

The position brings together the entire operational business of the group’s tour operator and markets division, airline, own brand hotels as well as Tui’s activities and experiences arm. 

 

Ciomperlik had steered the transformation of the tour operators and markets and re-organised the Group’s airline business in his previous role.

 

Tui’s tour operators, which previously operated largely on a regional basis, have been transformed into a strong, globally positioned marketplace with an international management team, the group noted. 

 

Tui said: “Marco Ciomperlik brings extensive strategic, operational and commercial experience to the role and is familiar with the tourism sector, including tour operator and airline businesses, and the challenges involved, having held various management positions.”

 

Tui’s joint ventures in the hotel and cruise sectors, as well as the group strategy division, will report directly to chief executive Sebastian Ebel. 

 

Mergers and acquisitions, including a Tui hotel fund, will move under the remit of chief financial officer Mathias Kiep.

 

Within Ciomperlik’s area of responsibility on the executive board, Mircea Tudose will take on responsibility for Tui’s regions as a new member of the group executive committee.

 

With the company since 2013, he most recently led and expanded the rapidly growing expansion businesses division as managing director, including markets in Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania. He was previously responsible for group strategy, among other areas.

 

Tui described the changes as being the next stage of group transformation.

 

“Unlike any other company, Tui is active as a developer, investor and operator across all segments of the tourism industry – from hotels, cruises and activities at destinations through to the tour operator business and Tui Airline,” the company said. 

 

“This unique integration of the business will also be reflected in the composition of the group executive board going forward. 

 

“The new structure will leverage synergies between the business areas even more consistently and enable an even greater focus on the group’s own differentiated products. 

 

“The group’s leading position in hotels, cruises, experiences and activities at destinations, as well as in travel distribution and the holiday flight business, is thus set to be further expanded - in a cost-optimised manner based on global platforms. 

 

“Furthermore, this will enable the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence to be exploited even more effectively.”

 

Ebel said: “We have successfully completed the first stage of our transformation. We have delivered consistently profitable growth since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

“Now we are moving on to the next stage. Vertical integration is TUI’s recipe for success. That is why we are integrating our business areas even more closely. 

 

“In future, our entire operational business across all segments will be managed by a single executive board member. The set-up is optimal - we have strong products, Tui-exclusive brands and are leaders in our markets. 

 

“I am delighted that Marco Ciomperlik can build on this in his new role, drawing on his extensive operational experience. 

 

“The goal is clear: Tui stands for innovation, quality, reliability - and for profitable growth. 

 

“Here, we want to and will continue to set new standards. I am very grateful to David Schelp and Peter Krueger for their highly successful and personally trusting collaboration. 

 

“David Schelp has successfully consolidated Tui’s markets and created a global tourism marketplace that forms the platform for our future growth. 

 

“Peter Krueger has successfully driven the highly profitable expansion of our differentiated products and, in particular, accelerated our global hotel growth, thereby strengthening the group’s position, especially in Asia. 

 

“In doing so, both have laid the foundations for us to now take the next step in our transformation. I am delighted that both will remain closely connected to the Tui family, even as they take on new roles outside the group.”