During his time at Saga, Simmonds also held roles such as head of marketing and managing director. In between two stints at Saga he spent 10 years as chief executive at Revitalise, a charity providing respite holidays for disabled people and carers.

He will have day-to-day responsibility for management of the marketing, digital and studio departments, as well as the trade sales team and partnerships team. 

The brand has also appointed Ewan Moore as chief commercial and finance officer. Moore has held various roles within the industry during his career, most recently as finance director at RPC Hotels and prior to that, 12 years as finance director at Riviera Travel.
 
Alongside his commercial responsibilities for the group, Moore will work alongside other members of the leadership team on a number of key projects and initiatives the group has planned as part of its continued growth strategy. 

Both roles will sit within the leadership team and report directly into The JG Travel Group’s chief executive Andy Freeth.

"Both Chris and Ewan bring an incredible amount of experience to the business that will be invaluable to us as we continue with our growth plans," Freeth said.

"They will play an important role in helping us achieve our strategic goals and driving the business forward. They are both inspiring leaders who have a real passion for both our industry and its customers."

The new appointments follow the recent departure of marketing director Neil Hardy and commercial director Matthew Herbert.