The board of TUI Deutschland has appointed Sebastian Ebel as the new chief executive of the company with immediate effect.

In adopting the resolution regarding the change at the helm of the company, the supervisory board followed the wish of the previous chief executive Christian Clemens, who will now pass his responsibilities into new hands six months earlier than originally planned.

The 53-year-old had asked for this change in order to be able to return to Sweden with his family, where his children are to attend school again from August.

Clemens had already informed the supervisory board at the end of last year that he was not going to extend his contract with Germany’s number one tour operator for family reasons.

Clemens will also resign from the group executive committee of the TUI Group.         

“Of course, we respect the request submitted by Christian Clemens and wish him all the best for the future,” said Peter Long, Joint chief executive of the TUI Group.

“Over the last three years, Christian has introduced a new culture and greater customer focus into TUI Deutschland delivering a platform for growth through product innovation and a more efficient operation.”

Ebel is a member of the TUI Group’s executive board, in charge of the cruise and hotel business, TUI Destination Services and IT.

In the wake of the restructuring of the group, he also additionally assumed responsibility for central region a few weeks ago.

This comprises Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland.