Director, Swift Travel Consultancy Ltd
Stuart Ellis
About Stuart
Stuart is a formidable C-suite commercial leader with a proven track record in general management, business development, sales and operations. A professional, in-demand investor, board advisor, speaker, mentor and NED, he has led commercial teams through two complex sale-side transactions, to a PE /trade buyer combination in 2015 & to a public company buyer in 2017. Prior to Swift Travel & his other current engagements, Stuart led Totalstay/Jac Travel FIT & Groups commercial functions as CCO. He was also SVP Sales EMEA for Kuoni Global Travel Services after its acquisition of GTA in 2011. Stuart brings significant experience of the tour operations & airline worlds, with five years at Thomson Holidays (TUI) and 2 years heading the tour operations business at Emirates UK on his CV. Stuart’s travel career began with 2 years working on European city breaks for Airtours, before joining Gulliver’s Travel Associates in 1996 as a groups operator.
Stuart has studied & worked extensively in Europe and speaks fluent German. He lives now in North London with his family and is an all-round cricket ‘nut’ and an enthusiast for Alpine skiing and mountain walking.
Major Achievements
- 2 x successful commercial sale-side transactions grossing £250M +
- Profitable sales growth achieved across large global regions in 5 different companies
- Transformed Emirates Tours UK from non-profitable to profitable business in 2 years.
- Developed & implemented commercial pathway between product & sales to dramatically improve internal efficiencies & speed to market
- Successful seed & Round A/B investor in early-stage businesses in UK & overseas
- Led teams of 200+ through periods of hyper-growth, dramatic change & economic challenge
- Led both FIT & Groups businesses at same time – in diverse regions & with different requirements/demands
- Implemented mentoring & coaching schemes for senior management development
- Operated in more than 75 different sales source markets, delivering growth across the board & building long-term commercial partnerships
- Led complaints & customer services initiative to dramatically reduce global service delivery issues at Thomson Holidays
Career History Summary:
- Non-Exec, Board Advisor & Consultant, SuRE Business Consultancy, 2018-Current
- Group Chief Commercial Officer, Jac Travel, 2015-2017
- Chief Commercial Officer, Totalstay Group, 2013-2015
- Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing EMEA, Kuoni Global Travel Services, 2011-2013
- Vice President – Europe & Latin America, Gulliver’s Travel Associates, 2008-2011
- General Manager, Emirates Tours UK, 2006-2008
- Group Sales Manager, Gullivers Travel Associates, 2004-2006
- Quality Assurance & Customer Service Manager, TUI UK (Thomson Holidays) 1999-2004
- Group Sales & Operations Supervisor, Gulliver’s Travel Associates, 1996-1999
- Overseas Representative – City Breaks, Airtours Holidays Plc 1993-1996