DER Travel and Tourism Group today (21 September 2022) announced its new management structure and the joint Group strategy for future growth. At a time when the travel and tourism industry is experiencing a renewed upswing, DER Travel and Tourism will increasingly capitalise on the strength of the international group in a total of 16 markets. As part of this, the management of the Travel and Tourism Group will be reorganised to ensure a smooth transition when Sören Hartmann, current CEO DER Travel and Tourism Group, leaves the company at the end of the year. The new management structure is intended to strengthen the focus on operational priorities and further improve cross-regional cooperation.

As already announced in March, Sören Hartmann, who will continue to be available to the company in an advisory role, will hand over overall responsibility for the tourism business to Lionel Souque, CEO REWE Group, at the end of the year. From 1 January 2023, the newly appointed Executive Board, which is made up of three of the most experienced top managers in DER Travel and Tourism, will report directly to Lionel Souque, CEO of the REWE Group: Dr Ingo Burmester, Leif Vase Larsen and Boris Schnabel will ensure strong operational management of the markets and divisions of DER Travel and Tourism Group as members of the Executive Board. This also includes important growth areas such as the incoming agencies and the hotel business:

Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe, will continue to lead the DACH region. He will also be responsible for the hotel business as well as Group Brand Management, Group Corporate Communications and Group Corporate Responsibility.

Leif Vase Larsen, who will also remain CEO Northern Europe, will be appointed CEO International. In this role, he will bundle the international business including the markets in France, the UK, Scandinavia and Finland, the Benelux countries and the fast-growing Eastern European markets. His area of responsibility will also include the incoming agencies and the Digital Transformation and IT division.

Boris Schnabel, CFO of DER Travel and Tourism Group, will now combine several corporate functions: In addition to Group Finance & Reporting, Treasury, Risk Management, Compliance and Legal, he will also be responsible for Corporate Strategy as well as Group Human Resources.

The newly appointed Executive Board will work closely with the Extended Executive Board, which includes Joao Gonzaga (Chief Digital Officer Group), Jiří Jelínek (CEO Eastern Europe), Dr Klaus-Ulrich Sperl (CEO DMC) and Georg Schmickler (CEO Hotel Division) as well as Stephanie Wulf (Chief HR Officer Group) - all members of the previous International Management Board.

He also congratulates the members of the new Executive Board of DER Travel and Tourism Group: "I am looking forward to assuming responsibility for our Travel and Tourism business, which is an important pillar of REWE Group's core business. Together with the newly appointed Executive Board, we are striving for further growth. Today's tourism market requires quick reactions to disruptions, as the situation in the air travel sector has shown again this summer. I am confident that with this team of committed and highly experienced top managers, we will recognise and address trends at an early stage and have an extremely strong network at an operational level. This will be crucial to further increasing our resilience and growth."

With the strength of the entire Group, DER Travel and Tourism Group plans to increase its market presence in the source markets and destinations while creating synergies at an operational level - from purchasing to digitalisation.
As newly appointed members of the Executive Board, Dr Ingo Burmester, Leif Vase Larsen and Boris Schnabel will drive forward a joint strategy that focuses on the three strategic pillars of customer orientation, digital convenience and product exclusivity.

Leif Vase Larsen, CEO International, explains: "Today, customer focus, product development and digitalisation are closely linked. Prioritising our digital transformation enables us to develop an even better understanding of our customers' requirements. As a leading travel company, we will consistently put the needs of travellers first - from advice and booking to the travel experience at the destination."

At the same time, the group strategy aims to optimally utilise the size of the entire group. In this context, a stronger presence of the corporate identity is also to be achieved. Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe, says: "We want to play a leading role in the travel industry of the future. This includes ensuring that our corporate identity reflects our international size and becomes much more visible to travellers, partners and employees around the globe. The development of a strong corporate culture within the international group will be crucial to this process."

In order to move forward with a clear strategic direction and achieve greater global visibility, common guidelines will be required within the Group. Boris Schnabel, CFO Group, explains: "Our Group strategy will set the common direction and define our goals for growth and profitability. The three strategic pillars of customer focus, digital convenience and product exclusivity thus unite all regions under one roof. Nevertheless, we are leaving room for local and business-specific concerns in order to give all markets and divisions the opportunity to realise their full potential."

The Group also aims to continue to attract talent and position itself as an international employer. Schnabel says: "Our success will depend heavily on the loyalty, commitment and passion of our employees, who have made us what we are today. Future growth will only be possible if we can utilise the strength of the Group to attract and develop international talent."

As already announced in March, Sören Hartmann who is remaining available in an advisory role, will hand over responsibility for the tourism business to REWE Group CEO, Lionel Souque. From January 1st 2023 onwards, the newly created Executive Board, which includes three of DER Touristik's most experienced top managers, Dr Ingo Burmester, Leif Vase Larsen and Boris Schnabel, will report directly to Lionel Souque. DER Touristik's new Executive Board will assure a strong operational leadership of the group's source markets and divisions - including key growth areas such as the destination management network and hotel business:

CEO Central Europe, Dr Ingo Burmester, will continue to lead the region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and oversee the Group's hotel business. He will also oversee Group Brand Management, Group Corporate Communications and Group Corporate Responsibility.

Leif Vase Larsen, who is also CEO Northern Europe, will become CEO International. In this function he will bundle the international business including the French, UK, Nordic, Benelux and fast growing Eastern European markets. He will also oversee the Destination Management Companies (DMC), Digital Transformation and IT.

DER Travel and Tourism Group CFO Boris Schnabel will bundle several corporate functions: Besides Group Finance and Reporting, Treasury, Risk Management, Compliance and Legal he will also oversee Corporate Strategy and Group Human Resources.
The newly appointed Executive Board will work in close cooperation with the Extended Executive Board consisting of Joao Gonzaga (Chief Digital Officer), Jiri Jelinek (CEO Eastern Europe), Ulrich Sperl (CEO DMC) and Georg Schmickler (CEO Hotel Division) and Stephanie Wulf (Chief HR Officer) - all members of the former International Management Board.

Congratulating the members of the new DER Travel and Tourism Executive Board he says: "I'm looking forward to taking on the responsibility for our travel and tourism business as an important pillar of our REWE Group core business and embark together with the newly appointed Executive Board on this journey towards future growth. The tourism market today requires responding fast to disruptions, as the flight situation this summer once more showed. I'm confident that with this team of driven and highly experienced top managers we will be fast in anticipating trends and extremely well connected on operational level. This will be key to our future resilience and growth."

Using power of the entire group, DER Travel and Tourism is planning to strengthen its market presence across source markets and destinations while at the same time creating strong synergies on operational level - from purchasing to digitalisation. As newly appointed Executive Board, Dr Ingo Burmester, Leif Vase Larsen and Boris Schnabel will drive a joint group strategy, which puts customer-centricity, digital services and exclusive products at the heart of the business.

Leif Vase Larsen, CEO International, says: "Today, customer-centricity, product development and digitalisation are closely interwoven. The prioritisation of our digital transformation agenda will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of our customers' needs and become a leading travel company that put travellers needs first - from inspiration and booking to the travel experience at the destination."

To leverage the full power of our group, the strategy includes a stronger presence of the Groups Corporate Identity. Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO Central Europe, says: "As we are claiming our leading role in the future travel industry, we also want our Corporate Identity to reflect our international scale and become more visible to travellers, partners and employees across the globe. Building one strong corporate culture will be fundamental to this process."

Moving jointly into the same direction - with one strategic core and a stronger global visibility - also requires defined guiding principles and a strong corporate culture to attract international talent. Boris Schnabel, Group CFO, explains: "Our group strategy will guide our direction and define our joint targets. While the three strategic pillars unite all regions, we will leave space for local and business specific needs - allowing all markets and divisions to realise their full potential." And he adds: "Our success will heavily depend on the loyalty, commitment, and passion of our employees who have brought us where we stand today. Future growth will only be possible, if we can use the power of the group to attract and further develop international talent."