Thomas Cook bolsters ecommerce team with digital marketer

Thomas Cook has recruited BSkyB digital marketer Louise Mullock to help grow online sales.

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The travel company has appointed Mullock to the new role of group sales and marketing director for ecommerce. It plans to ramp up its digital offering with particular focus on the website thomascook.com.

Positioning as an Online Travel Agent (OTA) is part of Thomas Cook’s long term strategy. In a management statement in August the company said: “Plans for the Online Travel Agency are now well underway and we expect the organisation to be largely in place for the commencement of the next financial year on October 1 2010.”

The strategy reflects trends in the travel industry that have seen both independent and mainstream holiday sales rise 11% year on year.

Mullock is expected to join Thomas Cook by the end of this month and will report to CEO for ecommerce Thomas Doering.

She was previously head of online sales and marketing at BSkyB and while in the role oversaw the appointment of Bigmouthmedia to handle natural search.

She is also a former head of online marketing at the Carphone Warehouse.

Thomas Cook plans to merge its retail high street operation with the Co-Operative Travel and Midlands Co-Operative Society. It is waiting for anti-trust clearance from the European Commission before moving ahead with the initiative.