Eurostar’s UK marketing chief announces departure

Eurostar’s UK sales and marketing director, Emma Harris is to leave following a restructure of the train operator’s commercial setup that she helped devise.

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Harris, who joined Eurostar ten years ago as senior business account manager and was promoted to her current role in 2008, will leave in January.

The new setup will see the marketing teams in Eurostar’s core markets of UK, France and Belgium replaced with a new global function with a central marketing team.

Lionel Benbassat, currently director of sales and marketing for the French market, will lead the team.

Eurostar says in a statement that the changes will “ensure greater alignment of the brand across the business”.

The move follows the introduction of the company’s first pan-European strapline, “opening the way” and its move to common, continent-wide campaigns. A new visual identity that aimed to reflect the new pan-European approach was introduced in March.

The company is also looking to appoint a roster of agencies to work across European markets.

Harris, who was instrumental in creating the new structure and overseeing the launch of the new visual identity, will work with Benbassat on the search for the new agency roster before leaving in the new year.

She says: “Having led the brand positioning and launched the new visual identity, I am looking forward to completing the transition to the new structure and the search for the roster of pan-European agencies so that I leave the business well-placed for the future.”

The reorganisation also sees the sales and customer teams across the its three core markets replaced into one sales and customer support function.

Louisa Bell, who has been appointed director of sales and customer support, will lead the team.

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