ONLY eight months into her stint as CTM’s CEO of Australia/NZ/Europe and Asia, Laura Ruffles has made the call to resign from the position due to health reasons.
The decision was made with immediate effect, and has precipitated a management restructure that will see all regional CEOs, at least for now, report directly to Managing Director Jamie Pherous.
While the unexpected news is a blow to the company’s leadership team, Ruffles will not be completely severing ties with CTM, with the experienced executive remaining on board to lead a customer-facing technology initiative, in line with a five-year product strategy.
“I would like to thank and acknowledge Laura’s significant contribution as an Executive Director and senior leader over many years and I am pleased she will remain involved with CTM in a pivotal role that provides the flexibility she needs at this time,” Pherous said.
Ruffles arrived in the CEO role following a global restructure in July last year, which saw her promoted from Chief Operating Officer.
At the time of her appointment, CTM noted that Ruffles would be key in enabling “a clear focus on organic growth and developing our technology to continue to deliver ROI to CTM customers, while leveraging the company’s vastly larger scale”.
She has been with CTM for close to 14 years, and before that held a variety of middle management roles with American Express.
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) confirmed to travelBulletin that Ruffles will remain on its board despite news of her resignation revealed this week.
