Cookes has been appointed to the newly created board-level role of leisure director at the consortium, where she will be responsible for driving Advantage’s leisure strategy.

Cookes will join Advantage on Monday (14 October) having spent much of her career in senior roles across Freedom and parent, Thomas Cook.

She joined Freedom as relationship manager in 2013 before being appointed general manager in 2014, a role she held for five years until being appointed head of commercial at Thomas Cook shortly before the iconic operator collapsed.

“I’m really excited to be joining Julia [Lo Bue-Said, Advantage chief executive] and the entire Advantage team,” said Cookes.

“The consortium continues to show innovation, focus and drive when it comes to delivering for their partners. It’s something I truly admire and can’t wait to be a part of.”

Her appointment comes following the departure of Advantage’s group commercial and membership director Paula Lacey, who has relocated to Dubai to pursue new career opportunities.

Lo Bue-Said added: “We are thrilled to have someone of Kelly’s calibre join the team in this vital role. We are confident Kelly’s enthusiasm and expertise will enable us to drive our leisure activity with an increased momentum.

“Kelly’s new role is part of our vision for the future. Following Paula Lacey’s departure, we have reshaped our business into areas of divisional expertise, across both business travel and leisure. It is a very exciting time for Kelly to be joining us.”