Leading North East travel agency Dawson & Sanderson has announced a major company restructure, building on the core values of the family run company, to take the business forward in a postCovid era.
The travel industry is recovering from the most difficult trading period in its history. Dawson & Sanderson’s trading in the last two years has been in line with that of most competitors, industry and other parts of the leisure and lifestyle market.
A Dawson & Sanderson spokesperson said: “Our new executives understand we need to adopt to change and prepare the business to ensure we service our customer base and meet the demands expected from a leading travel company.”
The changes see the appointment of three new senior roles as well as the appointment to Director of the grandson of the founder and Chairman Tom Dawson. Taking the helm at Dawson & Sanderson, are Retail Director, Jan Fawcett, along with Finance Director, Annelene Hutton, who take on the role of Joint Managing Directors.
Jan has played a major part in Dawson & Sanderson for over 30 years, with the past 11 as Director. She has extensive experience and her past responsibilities have included all day to day running of the business in sales and operations. She is delighted to be taking on her new role.
Annelene joined the company as Finance Director in March this year and has enjoyed a successful career at several global organisations and brings with her a wealth of experience that will strengthen the business going forward.
Judith Alderson has joined the Board as Commercial and Corporate Director. She has been an integral part of the company for many years with management roles in retail, cruise, worldwide and corporate. Judith also gained extensive sales and marketing experience outside our business with NCL Cruises.
David Chambers, grandson of the founder, Tom Dawson, becomes a Director, strengthening the family representation on the board. In recent years, he has been gaining hands-on experience across all areas of the company, including retail, corporate, foreign exchange, and golf. He will focus on project management, carrying on the ethos and future of the family business.
Chairman Tom Dawson said: “This new and exciting leadership team offers a wealth and variety of skills and experience to drive the business forward. Trading is strong and has reached pre-Covid levels. I’m delighted the new executive team understand the challenges of a travel business which has been built over the last 60 years on delivering customer service, satisfaction and value for money.”
He added: “Now we are facing a set of new challenges of fuel price inflation, which inevitably impact on holiday prices. Therefore, our key objective is to work hard to give customers the best option within their budgets.”
Over the last decade, Dawson & Sanderson has transformed the business from a high street facility to an industry that is heavily online.
Tom Dawson added: “The Dawson family are confident that this new leadership team will continue to grow the business and keep the true core values and our position in the North East holiday market.”
The travel agent has provided holidays for millions of customers through its website and regional network of 21 branch offices, which extend as far south as Hull and Doncaster and as far west as Carlisle.