Dean Harvey has announced his decision to leave Kuoni just three months after the departure of boss Derek Jones.

Derek, who was CEO of Kuoni parent DER Touristik UK, abruptly left his post in August.

Dean revealed today that he too was leaving his job as Marketing Director at the end of the year.

In a statement, Kuoni said he’ll continue to oversee the company’s marketing campaign for the peak turn of year activity and will leave on 31 December 2022.

It said Dean has ‘plans to return to the creative industry in an entrepreneurial role’.

He joined Kuoni almost seven years ago from agency Designate, where he was Digital Development Director working on brands including Mark Warner, Travelzoo and Disney. 

He was previously Chief Commercial Officer for SEO agency Spannerworks, working with brands including Apple, Toyota, M&S and Coca-Cola.

Kuoni said it had won ‘a multitude’ of awards under Dean’s leadership of the marketing team, but he said:  “After nearly seven years, it feels the right time to move on.

“I’ve loved every minute of my time at Kuoni, even the challenges brought on by the pandemic allowed us to experiment with creative content and build on our position as one of the most trusted brands in travel.

“I’ve been lucky to work with and nurture a talented team and I’ve been proud to lead our creative work which has resulted in multiple awards, most notably travel brand of the year and team of the year in the Travel Marketing Awards and being voted Luxury Tour Operator of the Year by readers of the Times and Sunday Times.  

“It’s been an honour and privilege to look after a brand like Kuoni and I’m confident the business and the team will go from strength to strength.”

DER Touristik UK CEO Francis Torrilla said: “We wish Dean every success for the future.  His contribution has been significant and he leaves the brand in fantastic shape.”