Nichols to lead Youtravel.com
Youtravel.com has appointed Graham Nichols as its first group managing director.Nichols, who officially takes up his new role on April 21, will oversee the group’s UK and international businesses and will be based between its offices in Woking, Surrey and head office in Athens. He reports directly to chief executive and founder John Kent.
Nichols joins youtravel.com from technology firm Worldspan where he was vice-president of its international business covering Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. He held the position for six years until it merged with Travelport.
Prior to this Nichols spent four years as the managing director of Amadeus UK and Ireland which saw him grow the business from a very small player to one of the leaders of the global distribution arena with significant double digit market share.
Chief executive John Kent said: “I am delighted to welcome Graham to our team. This is a milestone in our 18 month history and further cements our position at the leading edge of our sector.
“The addition of Graham to the senior management structure at youtravel.com is a significant one, it means that I will be able to leave the running of the UK and international teams in his capable hands while I look for strategic opportunities to grow the business further and plan the future direction for the group in new markets.”
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Nichols added: “To be joining such a fast-growing company in one of the most dynamic sectors of the travel industry is a huge honour. I have been very impressed with what John and the team have achieved in 18 months since start up and I am truly excited to be playing a part in the next phase of youtravel.com’s success.”
Youtravel.com is on track to reach its Euro150 million turnover target for its second year – more than double its first year turnover of Euro70 million.
Sales and marketing director Paul Riches commented: “The first three months of 2008 have been phenomenal for us, we’re consistently trading at 200% up year-on-year. The fact that we now have Graham onboard means that we’re going to be in a stronger position than ever to continue this incredible growth curve.”
The youtravel.com board of directors now report into Nichols.
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