Tui’s supervisory board met on Monday (27 June) to outline its future structure after chief executive Fritz Joussen’s sudden decision to step down. 

Joussen announced on Friday (24 June) his intention to resign on 30 September, with chief financial officer Sebastian Ebel due to take over as the new chair of Tui’s executive board from 1 October.

Ebel will be succeeded as chief financial officer by Mathias Kiep, previously Tui’s group director for corporate finance and investor relations. 

Meanwhile, Burling will remain in his role overseeing Tui’s tour operations and airlines until at least 31 May 2026. 

Tui said Burling, a former managing director of its UK and Ireland business, had “many years of experience in top management” and the successful restart of its operator programme after the pandemic “is in his proven hands”.

“Tui expects a strong summer business in 2022 and David Burling and his teams in the markets will do everything they can to ensure that guests have a memorable and enjoyable holiday,” the company added in a statement.

Ebel said: "I would like to thank the supervisory board for their trust. Our guests and Tui’s 50,000 colleagues are an enormous motivation for me. We still have some homework to do in dealing with the corona effects, but above all, I see many opportunities for Tui. 

"With the strong Tui team and our partners – the destinations, the hoteliers and the travel agencies – we will grow profitably again and together lead Tui to new successes.

"I would like to thank Fritz Joussen for his close and trusting cooperation. He saved Tui from split up, formed a new international group and led the company safely through the corona crisis with full energy. I am now looking forward to taking over from him and leading Tui into the next phase."