Travel Leaders Group has announced that J.D. O’Hara has been named president of the company as it embarks on further strategic growth initiatives for its family of travel brands. In the newly created role, O’Hara will oversee and work closely with the various Travel Leaders Group brand presidents to address specific needs of each distinct division, as well as continue to enhance the travel advisor and member agency value proposition. O’Hara’s appointment is effective immediately and he will report to Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko. O’Hara joins Travel Leaders Group from Certares Management, LLC, where he served as senior partner.
O’Hara was part of the original management buyout of Carlson Leisure Group from Carlson Companies in January 2008 and has served a key role in Travel Leaders Group’s ongoing growth since the company’s inception. In his various operating roles within Travel Leaders Group and as a member of the company’s board of directors while at Certares, O’Hara has had direct oversight of Travel Leaders Group’s vast investment activity, including acquisitions of Tzell Travel Group, Nexion Travel Group, Vacation.com, Protravel International, Andrew Harper Travel, CruCon Cruise Outlet, as well as Travel Leaders Group’s recent merger with Altour. As the company sought to expand beyond its core U.S. footprint, O’Hara led Travel Leaders Group’s international growth with the acquisitions of Mexico-based Corporate Travel Services, and UK-based agencies, Colletts Travel and Barrhead Travel.
With an intimate knowledge of the various Travel Leaders Group brands, O’Hara will focus on enhancing services and profitability to the company’s travel advisors and member agencies, as well as driving continued growth in select strategic markets.
O’Hara serves on the board of directors of Travel Leaders Group, Marietton Developpement, In The Know Experiences and Global Crew Logistics Concierge. Prior to joining Travel Leaders Group, O’Hara served in the investment banking industry at Lehman Brothers in New York. O’Hara received a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
This story originally appeared on www.luxurytraveladvisor.com.
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