We’re welcoming Ricky Gudgeon and Athenee Graham, who alongside our now seven-strong team will focus on supporting and driving new business to the corporate travel arm, enabling new clients to continue to enjoy seamless onboarding experiences and transition their employee travel requirements to Travel Counsellors for Business.
Senior Business Development Manager Athenee joins us following a ten-year tenure at Corporate Travel Management and Newland Chase in senior sales roles. Similarly, Business Development Manager Ricky’s previous role at Corporate Travel Management followed a decade long career at Corporate Traveller USA.
The new hires join our corporate sales and business development team, spearhead by Wayne Durkin, with Louise Jones joining the business earlier this year from CWT and Click Travel, and business development managers Ashley Averill, Hamid Ali, Joe Vickers and Joseph Higson continuing to bid and win new business in the SME sector.
Travel Counsellors for Business’ Director of Corporate, Mel Quinn, said; “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Athenee and Ricky to the business development team. Alongside our latest hires, the wealth of experience, passion for corporate travel and dedicated skillset between the team will be essential in not only supporting new corporate travel business, but also sees them work closely with our corporate Travel Counsellors to ensure that the strong relationships we forge with our clients right at the beginning of their journey with us continue to grow.
“With further growth for the team planned in 2025, and traveller wellbeing at the forefront of our client care approach, the sales and business development team is in a brilliant position to be able to set this agenda early, ensuring our current and would-be clients know that they are fully supported every step of the way.”
Following a period of significant growth, we at Travel Counsellors for Business are excited to announce these new appointments. Our corporate travel management function has played a key role, contributing nearly £300m to our major milestone this autumn when we reached £1 billion in sales over a rolling 12-month period.
If you’d like to work with our talented team to implement a care-centric business travel programme for your company, get in touch to learn more about Travel Counsellors for Business. We’d love to work with you.
Take a look at the highlights from our Corporate Conference in Birmingham, which brought together our community to share real stories, insights, and ideas shaping the future of business travel — and discover what it means for our clients, from more personalised support to smarter, more resilient travel management.
We are currently monitoring ongoing airspace disruption affecting parts of the Middle East. The situation is evolving and may impact flights to, from, or transiting through the region. Our priority is to support clients and travellers with clear guidance, proactive monitoring, and practical solutions in line with airline policies and official government advice.
In an uncertain world, unmanaged business travel is a growing risk. Discover how a people‑centred managed travel programme can protect your travellers, control costs, and build resilience, with the dedicated support of Travel Counsellors for Business.