Former Cook commercial chief Gardner brings more than 20 years’ travel industry experience to the role, and will be responsible for guest proposition, sales, marketing and commercial planning, as well as digital and reservations centre interaction with guests and the trade. 

He started his career with First Choice where, among other roles, he was an integration programme manager for the brand’s merger with Thomson. He went on to lead the "flight only" division of Tui UK and then the commercial arm of Tui UK Cruises.

Gardner moved to Thomas Cook in 2015 with a focus on distribution; he assumed several different roles including director of sales, e-commerce and marketing, and was a member of the UK board.

Following Cook’s collapse in September 2019, Gardner became chief commercial officer at Chinese travel firm Fosun, which went on to relaunch Cook as an OTA. He announced his departure last month.

Gardner said "opportunities like this don’t come around often" and joining the line was a "compelling proposition". "I look forward to being back in the heart of the cruise industry and developing a brand and business that is the envy of the UK cruise market," he said.

Gardner’s appointment comes as part of a wider shake-up of Ambassador’s executive team, which sees Matthias Seeger join as chief financial officer and Nick Hughes as chief operating officer.