TripAdvisor is appointing Marc Charron as managing director Europe. In this newly created position, he will lead TripAdvisor’s rollout of dedicated local language sites and manage operations across Europe. 

Of TripAdvisor’s more than 20 million monthly* visitors, nearly 25 percent are from Europe. TripAdvisor soft-launched sites for the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Italy in December 2005.  Tripadvisor.co.uk was formally launched in January 2006 with the other local European domains expected to follow shortly.

Charron, who will be based in London, has a broad background running European internet travel and e-commerce businesses and has spent eight years in the travel industry. “We are thrilled to have found a seasoned business mind in Marc Charron, who brings extensive experience running travel and e-commerce businesses across Europe,” said Steve Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor.  “We already have a strong foothold in Europe, and with Marc’s leadership we are certain to rapidly and dramatically grow the business and extend our leadership position.”

Charron added, “TripAdvisor members in Europe have always contributed hugely to the vital community that has made TripAdvisor.com such an important resource for travellers worldwide. I look forward to building our European sites country by country, tailoring the TripAdvisor experience to local needs and expectations, and making our wealth of reviews and travellers’ advice available to the widest possible audience.”

Charron was most recently vice president of product marketing with Squaretrade, Inc. in San Francisco.  Prior to that, he was based in London as Managing Director of QXL (1998-2002), Getz International Travel (1996-98) and Danube Travel (1994-96.)  Charron started his travel career in 1991 with Carlson Travel in Vienna.

——-