Fletcher, who joined Gold Medal in 1996, will assume her new position with immediate effect and report into managing director Simon Applebaum.

She will lead a trade team of 20 across the UK from dnata’s UK headquarters in Leyland, Lancashire having marked her 26th anniversary working with the company just last week.

Fletcher’s appointment follows the recent departure of dnata’s B2B sales director Nick Hughes, who joined Princess Cruises last month.

Having joined Gold Medal in 1996, Fletcher worked in the brand’s Blackpool-based call centre before progressing to agency sales and wholesale manager from May 2005, during which she ran Gold Medal’s internal agency sales team and oversaw all wholesale accounts for Gold Medal GDS self-book and API customers.

In June 2016, she was appointed head of trade support, with responsibility for managing Gold Medal’s agent incentive scheme Farebank, negotiating commercial agreements with trade partners, organising and hosting agent fam trips and events, brochure distribution and support of the trade partnership field team.

Applebaum said: “Karen’s appointment is another great example of how we develop talent and provide opportunities for career progression. She knows our business inside out, and it’s fantastic to have her as part of our leadership team.

“It goes without saying that her knowledge of our trade partnership network and familiarity with the needs of our valued agent partners across the UK can only be a good thing for them, and she’s extremely well known and highly respected across the industry. I’m looking forward to seeing her thrive in her new role.”

Fletcher added: “I’ve been with this company virtually my whole working life, so of course I’m very excited to apply all the experience and knowledge I’ve gained in that time to this new challenge. I know our TPMs and industry partners well, and already have some exciting ideas for how we can deepen those relationships further and make the most of the opportunities ahead. I can’t wait to get out on the road to start make those ideas a reality – especially with peaks just around the corner.”