Pickles, who during his more than 20 years working in the sector has delivered CRM solutions for the likes of Thomas Cook, Tui and Cosmos, will run Inspiretec’s new business team and have responsibility for the company’s wider marketing strategy.

He most recently held the role of global director at The Travel Corporation.

Richard Baker, previously Inspiretec’s chief commercial officer, takes on the new role of chief customer officer, with responsibility for the next phase of Inspiretec’s customer experience journey.

Simon Powell, chief executive of Inspiretec, said Pickles’ experience would be “invaluable” to the business, adding: “We have some clear growth goals and I know Jon will make a huge difference to our presence in the industry going forward.”

“My appointment comes at a really exciting time in Inspiretec’s growth. It is great business and I’m looking forward to focusing on customer experience and customer service management, with CRM fronting their booking technology,” said Pickles.

Baker added: “Our strategy is to continue to put customers at the very centre of our business and through my new role we will be putting more emphasis on this than ever before.”