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Southern Travel Holdings, the parent company of The Walshe Group and Southern Travelnet, is pleased to announce the appointment of two highly experienced directors to its board: Ed Sims and Frances-Anne Keeler. They will join David Simmons, a non-executive director, and Jacqui Walshe, the current executive chair.
In conjunction with these appointments, Southern Travel Holdings announces the departure of Mark Taylor as a non-executive director after nine years of service. Earlier this year, Michael Hall also stepped down from his role as executive director.
Both Ed and Frances-Anne bring extensive experience in the tourism and aviation sectors and have enjoyed distinguished careers as senior executives before transitioning into governance roles.
Ed has held prominent leadership positions, including Group President and CEO for WestJet Airline Group in Canada; CEO for Airways New Zealand and group general manager for Air New Zealand. He is currently a non-executive director at Christchurch International Airport, Ngati Whatua Orakei Whai Rawa, and serves as a board safety advisor for Virgin Australia.
Frances-Anne has a wealth of experience in the tourism sector, having served as deputy CEO of Tourism Australia and executive director for VisitBritain in Europe. She currently holds several board roles, including chair of Australian Tourism Data Warehouse and Chocolateria San Churro, and non-executive director of Snap Print Solutions.
“We are extremely honoured to welcome Ed and Frances-Anne to our board,” says Southern Travel Holdings executive chair Jacqui Walshe.
“Their wealth of industry experience and strong governance expertise will be invaluable as we work towards our strategic growth objectives and explore new initiatives. We look forward to their insights and contributions. On behalf of the board and executive team, I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mark Taylor for the outstanding contribution he has made over the past nine years, especially during the challenges of the pandemic.
We also acknowledge the valuable contribution Michael Hall made during his tenure as both a senior executive and board director.”
