Former Sunshine.co.uk boss joins Traveltek to head UX strategy

Former Sunshine.co.uk boss joins Traveltek to head UX strategy

Chris Brown appointed to newly-created role of group product manager Continue reading

Former Sunshine.co.uk co-founder Chris Brown is to spearhead the user experience transformation strategy at Traveltek Group.

He has been recruited in the newly-created role of group product manager.

Brown plans to make major enhancements to the company’s B2B services including iSell and iTour platforms are used by a large number of agents and operators across the UK.

A serial entrepreneur, Brown appeared in the Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall series Secret Millionaire in 2010.

Brown started as a telesales travel agent at Virgin Travelstore in 2000. He was appointed agency sales support manager at MedHotels.com a year later and then launched independent holiday review website Holidaywatchdog.com in 2003, which was acquired by TripAdvisor in 2008.

He left sunshine.co.uk in 2012, and the company was acquired earlier this year by beach holidays specialist OnTheBeach for £12 million.

Before joining Traveltek, Brown was projects and operations manager at Online Travel Group, where he led the company’s restructure and website development.

He will complement the work of Dominic Williams, Traveltek’s recently-appointed creative services director, who is responsible for digital and brand development strategy.

Both appointments come as Traveltek embarks on its biggest growth phase in its 20-year history, spearheaded by president and chief executive, Kenny Picken, who secured £5.3 million investment from private equity fund manager YFM last year.

Picken said: “Chris brings unrivalled OTA and web review experience to Traveltek, which coupled with his knowledge of iSell and understanding of what travel agents need from their travel technology, will bring a brand new dimension to our B2B products.

“We have always had a close working relationship with the trade and with Chris on board, I am confident this collaborative approach will reach new heights.

“The outcome will be a mind-blowing User Experience that upholds Traveltek’s ongoing reputation as an industry pioneer.”

Brown said: “I am a passionate techie with a great understanding of Traveltek’s products and their intricacies and I’ve come on board to ensure travel agents get the very best out of them.

“There is so much scope to refine the user experience and to introduce new concepts such as user-generated content that can be leveraged as a unique selling tool – a concept that is yet to be rolled out to the trade on mass by any technology provider.

“I am therefore really excited to join Traveltek as it looks to pioneer a UX strategy that will set the company apart on a global scale.”

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