Stella Group’s Australia boss leaves in further management shake-up

Stella Group managing director Rolf Krecklenberg has left in a move that mirrors a management shake-up in the group’s UK division this week. Krecklenberg – who also sat on the group’s five-strong board – is understood to have left the group on December 23 and is unlikely to be replaced. Stella Travel Services chief executive…

Stella Group managing director Rolf Krecklenberg has left in a move that mirrors a management shake-up in the group’s UK division this week.

Krecklenberg – who also sat on the group’s five-strong board – is understood to have left the group on December 23 and is unlikely to be replaced.

Stella Travel Services chief executive Peter Lacaze and Stella Hospitality Group chief executive Bob East will now report directly into the board, according to a report on Travel Today, part of Travel Weekly in Australia.

The changes follow news this week that Stella Travel Services’ European managing director Shane Flynn, whose remit included the UK, is to leave the group. He remains as a consultant for six months.

As a result former Global Travel Group chief executive Andrew Botterill had been promoted to become managing director of the UK business. It is believed he will report directly into Lacaze.

Private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific, which acquired a 65% of the Stella Group from former stakeholders MFS last year, has three directors on the Stella Group board, including its managing director Bob Keeble. The fourth board member is Craig Chapman, chief executive of Octaviar, formerly MFS.

The restructure follows the departure in September last year of former Stella Travel Services chief executive Keith Stanley, who was replaced by Lacaze, and Stella Travel Services UK managing director Andrew Laurie in November.

On the group’s website this morning, Krecklenberg was still listed as a director. No official statement has been made by the group on the changes.