John Watson Joins TRANSEARCH International Dubai as Partner and Global Head of Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality
TRANSEARCH International Dubai is delighted to announce the appointment of John Watson as Partner/Global Head of Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality. John brings with him a distinguished career spanning over four decades, marked by leadership roles across prestigious global organisations. His extensive experience in developing robust operational strategies and his deep-rooted understanding of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries will significantly enhance our firm's growth and innovation.
John started his career in retail travel with American Express in Edinburgh in 1980. He graduated to become the youngest main-board director of Hogg Robinson Travel/BTI as first Sales Director and then Operations Director with responsibilities including 130 offices, 1,200 staff and 4,600 corporate clients.
Moving on to run European sales for United Airlines in eight countries, John was one of the first ex-pats to work in the USA for United. Based in Philadelphia, he was in charge of airport operations, sales and key account management.
In 1998, John took on the role as Global Head Marketing for Standard Chartered Bank based in Singapore before, in 2001, becoming Managing Director of Marina Developments 18 marinas (leisure, commercial & residential) in the UK.
From 2003 until 2012, John was CEO of the largest inbound tour operator in Asia, based in Bangkok, running 13 countries with some 600 staff. Under John's watch, his company won multiple World Travel Awards as Asia's best tour operator.
John has carried out various consultancy projects based in Macau and Vietnam for casino and tour businesses. Understanding all countries in Asia, John has a passion for the East and is a frequent traveller.
John has a unique blend of working for a family trust, privately held businesses and PLCs at senior levels. He understands the importance of staff, customers and suppliers working in harmony, nurturing and directing resources. Comfortable in strategy, sales & marketing, finance, distribution, customer service & delivery, key account management, partner & deal negotiations and relationships, John has been security cleared to work in sensitive government, airline and banking positions.
John supports the Scottish Government in his role as a GlobalScot and sits on the board of the Beatson Cancer Charity in Glasgow.
For further information please contact TRANSEARCH International at: contact@transearch.com
Copyright © TRANSEARCH International
About TRANSEARCH:
TRANSEARCH is a leading retained executive search company with representation in all the major economic capitals of the world with over 60 offices in about 40 countries. TRANSEARCH International was founded in 1982 and is today one of the largest growing global retained executive search organisations in the world.
The company's core business is retained executive search and leadership consulting. Their global client base is extensive and represents some of the largest blue-chip organisations in the: Financial Services; Technology; Consumer & Retail; Life Sciences and Industrial & Resources sectors.
TRANSEARCH International is a United Kingdom registered company.
Other News
TRANSEARCH International expands into South Korea with a new office led by industry veteran JH Baek. This move strengthens their presence in Asia, providing world-class executive search services in one of the world's most dynamic markets.
TRANSEARCH India is delighted to announce the appointment of Samiron Ghoshal as Senior Partner for Technology. With a distinguished career spanning over 30 years in global leadership within the Technology and Consulting sectors
TRANSEARCH International Deutschland GmbH, Stuttgart, one of the leading companies in the field of executive search & leadership consulting, has expanded its management team with a new Managing Director, Dr. Hilmar Döring.
Balázs Vághy returns to TRANSEARCH International Hungary as Senior Partner, enhancing our expertise with his market knowledge and 15 years of experience in executive selection and talent management.
Assmahen El Hamdi ascends as TRANSEARCH International Morocco's Managing Partner. Her 18-year journey from founding to leading showcases her respected expertise and deep market influence.
TRANSEARCH Tokyo proudly announces the addition of Raita Suzuki and Yoko Sasaki to its esteemed team. Rai ta Suzuki, a seasoned consultant, brings expertise in Financial Services, Consumer Goods & Retail, and Manufacturing.
Roberto Pezza has recently joined TRANSEARCH Italy as Manager of the Leadership Consulting Practice, bringing over two decades of consultancy experience to the team. With a background in Work and Organisational Psychology, Roberto seamlessly
Leaders shape future workplaces through culture, focusing on empathy, strategic HR collaboration, and aligning values for talent retention and competitive advantage.