Flavour of the Week: AirAsia CEO’s new role, + MORE!

This Flavour of the Week edition is rather short, but would be a lot longer if we included Virgin Australia’s 750 job cuts. You already knew about that though.

AirAsia reshuffles leadership team

AirAsia has announced a reorganisation of its leadership team in support of the company’s transformation into a travel and financial platform, and to build airasia.com into a lifestyle brand.

AirAsia Group Berhad CEO Tony Fernandes (pictured above) will double up as CEO of airasia.com in the interim, with the company planning to appoint a permanent chief who will report to him in due course.

Joining Fernandes are AirAsia Berhad chief commercial officer Karen Chan, who will drive all commercial functions as airasia.com’s chief commercial officer, and Spencer Lee, who will take up the role of chief operating officer for AirAsia.com, managing the online business portfolio that includes OURSHOP and AirAsia WiFi (ROKKI).

AirAsia said in a statement that a chief product officer for airasia.com will also be appointed, while the company’s software engineering and technology head, Elias Vafiadis, will continue to lead software engineering, all reporting to Fernandes in the interim.

AirAsia Group Berhad’s deputy CEO for airlines, Bo Lingam, has been appointed as the company’s president for airlines, and will also head up AirAsia SEA (formerly known as AirAsia Global Shared Services), a shared services centre that provides corporate and support services to AirAsia.

Aireen Omar has been appointed as AirAsia Group Berhad’s president of RedBeat Ventures. In this role, she will focus on seeking out new companies and technologies to power AirAsia’s core business while still overseeing the company’s digital businesses such as BigPay, Teleport and AirAsia BIG Loyalty.

Helloworld appoints first cruise GM

Helloworld Travel has announced the appointment of Catherine Allison to the newly created role of general manager of cruise for product and commercial, based in Sydney.

Allison will be responsible for overseeing the commercial and product requirements of both Helloworld’s wholesale cruise division, Seven Oceans Cruising, and the preferred retail relationships with all cruise lines.

Allison has extensive knowledge of the travel industry and the cruise sector, having worked with Helloworld for the past 10 years, most recently as head of land, touring and

cruise contracting, and boasts more than 18 years’ overall in the industry.

Your Travel & Cruise appoints first national BDM

Host agency Your Travel & Cruise has promoted Bianca Schefe to a newly created national business development role, which will see her manage new agent recruitment and training as well as offer general support.

She steps into the role after almost 20 years in the industry, including the past two years as marketing manager with Your Travel & Cruise and a stint as a cruise specialist at Cruising Down Under.

PARKROYAL Parramatta appoints new general manager

PARKROYAL Parramatta has announced the appointment of Paul Flett as the property’s new general manager.

With a career spanning more than 20 years, Flett is a highly experienced leader within the hospitality industry who has held leadership positions with Pan Pacific Hotels Group both domestically and abroad.

In 2013, Flett was appointed hotel manager at PARKROYAL Darling Harbour in Sydney, where he oversaw the engineering, front office, restaurants, bars and events and housekeeping teams, before his promotion to GM of the hotel in 2016.

TMS Talent’s Ed Hewitt scores a promotion

TMS Talent has promoted Ed Hewitt to state manager for NSW and Queensland.

John Terry, managing director of TMS Talent, said: “We are pleased to announce the promotion of Ed Hewitt to state manager for both Queensland and NSW. This promotion offers the QLD region additional resources and service capabilities.

“Not only will clients and candidates have Ed available on the ground regularly in Brisbane, but they will also have our team of recruitment consultants supporting the market with our high-touch service approach.”

Pan Pacific Perth appoints assistant chief concierge as WA director

Pan Pacific Perth has announced the appointment of assistant chief concierge Stuart Spicer as director of Western Australia for the Les Clefs d’Or’s Australian national branch.

Les Clefs d’Or, or ‘The Society of the Golden Keys’, is an international professional association of the world’s best hotel concierges, founded in France in 1952.

A veteran hospitality professional of over 13 years, Spicer has worked at the Pan Pacific Perth since 2011, commencing as a porter before working his way to assistant chief concierge.

Spicer was accepted into the Les Clefs d’Or Australia in 2017 and was awarded Best Concierge in the 2016 Perth Airport Australian Hotels Association Western Australia Awards.

Corporate Travel Management renews and appoints new global chief legal officer and company secretary

Corporate Travel Management (CTM) has announced the appointment of Sophie Mitchell as non-executive director to the company board.

CTM has also announced the appointment of corporate lawyer Anne Tucker to the new role of global chief legal officer and company secretary.

Mitchell’s appointment forms part of a board and governance renewal process that will see the appointment of further non-executive directors.