Saga has announced the appointment of Nick Stace as chief executive of its travel business.

He currently holds the role of chief strategy officer with the company, and will take up his new role with immediate effect.

In his new role Stace will oversee the cruise and tours businesses, while he will also retain responsibility for strategy at the parent company.

The key focus in both travel businesses is ensuring a safe return to service as soon as government restrictions on travel are lifted.

In his current role, Stace has been leading work with government and all other relevant authorities to ensure provision of the very best safety operating protocols for a Covid-19 world.

Before joining Saga, he had held a series of senior leadership roles across charities, consumer-facing organisations and financial services as well as in regulation. 

Euan Sutherland, Saga Group chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Nick is moving to head our travel business after successfully driving our strategic reset.

“With a new strategy in place and a significantly enhanced financial position, we see a wealth of opportunities ahead of us as we position Saga to deliver sustainable growth and create significant long-term value.

“Nick brings a wealth of experience that will be invaluable for the next phase of development of our travel business.”

Stace replaces Robin Shaw who left Saga in June.

Stace said: “My number one priority in my new role is ensuring that our travel businesses are ready to provide exceptional experiences to our customers when the current restrictions are lifted.

“We know that the demand is there, because our customers are enthusiastically re-booking in both cruise and tours and we have worked to ensure we have detailed, industry-leading procedures ready for a Covid-19 world.”