New AFTA Board nominees

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) is expected to shortly announce details of an election process for vacancies on its board, with eight candidates nominating for six available positions this year.

Potential additions to the board for 2022 include MTA Travel co-founder Roy Merricks as well as BCD Travel’s Tass Messinis, recently named as Chair of the Association of Travel Management Companies (TD 20 May).

They join six existing Directors who are up for election under the normal two-year rotation process laid out in the AFTA Constitution, including AFTA Chairman Tom Manwaring from Express Travel Group, David Greenland from Reed & Mackay representing CT Partners, Helloworld Travel Limited’s Julie Primmer, Spiros Alysandratos from Consolidated Travel and Flight Centre’s Graham Turner and David Smith.

Ballot papers will be dispatched shortly, and members will have until 22 Jul to vote in the election process, which is being conducted by an independent third party.

The results are expected to be announced in mid-Aug as part of the AFTA Annual General Meeting, at which point the newly constituted board will elect office bearers from among the Directors, in accordance with its normal practice.

It’s the third year running that additional candidates who are not currently on the board have been nominated as AFTA Directors.

Last year’s election also saw Messinis throw his hat in the ring, alongside Thuy Carroll from Adelaide’s Tweet World Travel, Paul Gorman from Luxury Escapes and former Travel Corporation executive Katrina Barry, who was the only successful newcomer.

Barry subsequently resigned after taking a new role outside the travel industry (TD 11 Jan).

In 2020 the election was conducted under the leadership of then AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, with board outsider nominations from Travlr’s Simon te Hennepe and Australian Travel Agents Cooperative GM Michelle Emerton (TD 23 Sep 2020), both of whom were unsuccessful.

AFTA Directors who are not up for re-election this year include Webjet’s Shelley Beasley, Laura Ruffles from Corporate Travel Management, American Express GBT VP Joanne Sully, Travellers Choice CEO Christian Hunter and Helloworld’s David Padman.

The AFTA Constitution, which is currently undergoing a review led by CEO Dean Long, stipulates a complex formula whereby agency head office groups get additional votes based on the number of locations in their networks.