Former head of Virgin Holidays joins talkholiday

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Amanda Wills CBE, described by Sir Richard Branson as “a legend within the travel industry,” has joined the board of travel-themed social network talkholiday.

Amanda Wills CBE, described by Sir Richard Branson as “a legend within the travel industry,” has joined the board of travel-themed social network talkholiday.

Wills was the managing director of Virgin Holidays for 13 years until her departure in 2014. Under her leadership of 1,500 staff the company doubled turnover, increased profits four-fold and grew bookings to half a million customers per annum. Previous to that Wills was the first woman appointed to the board at Airtours PLC.

She joins talkholiday in a non-executive role with a brief to increase brand awareness through commercial partnerships and as the principal strategist in the travel sector. She will operate from her base in London.

talkholiday was conceived and developed by Scottish entrepreneur Chris Newlands after his own travel experiences made him realise there were gaps in the market regarding various aspects of holidaymaking.

The site acts as a platform where like-minded people with the same interests, going to the same destination or an event at the same time, can interact. Users can also plan, prepare and purchase every aspect of their leisure or business trip on the site. Members are provided with a free crisis support feature should they lose their passport, mobile phone or bags on holiday.

“Amanda’s appointment is a monumental moment for our company,” enthused an elated Newlands. “I envisage that her contribution to our growth will be immense. Amanda’s obviously seen something in us that we all believe – that we will be a significant player in this space.”

Wills added: “It is hugely exciting. When Chris asked me to join him it was an absolute no brainer. I left Virgin Holidays with the motivation to offer my expertise to young enterprising businesses with bundles of ambition and potential. I see those exact attributes in talkholiday as a brand and in the team that Chris is building.

“The foundation to a fantastic business is already in place and I am here to help take it to the next level at a time when it is accelerating rapidly in both numbers, partnerships and development,” Wills continued. “Needless to say, I am absolutely delighted to join this vibrant team.”

Another notable addition is the appointment of Steven Mail, a former investment banker who once launched the largest single manager Global macro hedge fund in Europe. Florida-based Mail is extremely well connected to leading US social and digital media companies.

Mail, born in Scotland, was an early investor in talkholiday and formerly acted as an advisory board member. Mail joins the board as a non-exec Director as the brand looks to roll out in to the US market later this year. He has been working on a separate project with Scottish Enterprise to bring Endeavour, the social entrepreneurship organisation to Scotland.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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