Thomas Cook UK today announced the appointments of its new heads of sales, all of whom have been promoted from existing roles within the company.

The new heads of sales: Karen Lightfoot, Tracey Goldthorpe and Michelle Bonney, will each hold responsibility for one of Thomas Cook ` s three UK geographical regions. Their roles will involve leadership for the regional sales managers and close liaison with the stores, in order to achieve an even closer focus on customer service and sales.

Pete Collins, director of retail for Thomas Cook, said: ” Karen, Tracey and Michelle have a total of 50 years `  sales experience, and have been selected as they set a perfect example of strong leadership skills, combined with an exceptional grasp of customer needs, dynamism to motivate others and the ability to implement new ideas and initiatives. I believe they will make a real difference to our network and give sales an extra boost. ”

Head of Sales for North England and Scotland will be Karen Lightfoot.  Karen joined Thomas Cook in 1982 on Thomas Cook ` s Youth Training Scheme.  Since then, Karen has successfully progressed through the retail business, working her way up to customer service manager, Shop Manager, and in 1993 was appointed Regional Sales Manager.  Karen has shown great success significantly increasing sales in her region, which will be a great advantage in her new role.

Head of Sales for Central England, Wales and Ireland will be Tracey Goldthorpe.  Tracey has gained wide experience across all of Thomas Cook> `  sales channels since joining the company over 10 years ago.  She has held several Shop Manager positions, and worked as HR Manager and Development Manager for the sales centres.  Most recently Tracey has been working as Operations Manager for Thomas Cook TV, and has made a great contribution in driving sales through the TV channel since its launch.

Head of Sales for the South will be Michelle Bonney.  Michelle joined Thomas Cook as a Shop Manager in Romford in 1984.  Since then she has held several Manager positions in the South, and one of her major achievements was the opening of the Bluewater shop in Kent.  For the last three years Michelle has held the Regional Sales Manager position for Essex.  Michelle has always shown great sales focus which will be vital in her new role.

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