Riviera Travel has appointed an Operations Director from outside the business and given new roles to two existing bosses, including Chief Operating Officer Robin Shaw.

Noeleen Pritchard has joined the company in the newly created Operations Director role, from Great Rail Journeys, where she ran operations for seven years.

Before that, she was a manager in Capita’s travel division for 11 years.

In addition, Simon Michaelides’ role has changed from Chief Customer Officer to Chief Customer and Strategy Officer. He now has overall responsibility for business strategy, customer insight and analytics, innovation, brand, marketing, ecommerce and digital.

Robin Shaw, who joined Riviera as Chief Operating Officer in December 2021, is now Chief Commercial Officer.

He has overall responsibility for driving Riviera’s commercial capability and agenda, including for supply-side relationships and deals, planning and building product, and margin management.

Chief Executive Officer Phil Hullah said: “Noeleen brings extensive travel operations knowledge to Riviera and we are thrilled she has joined us.

“We are seeing strong customer demand for our river cruises and escorted tours, so now is the ideal time to really focus on our long-term growth.

“Noeleen’s addition to the executive team, together with the wider changes, will ensure that we are best placed to understand and respond to changing customer needs.”

A spokesperson added: “We don’t have any plans for a new COO. With the recent changes, we believe we have the right skillset and structure to deliver operational excellence, drive the business forward and achieve long term growth.”

Pictured: Noeleen Pritchard and Robin Shaw