Meet The Team

Bob started Travel Department to offer the Irish market travel opportunities that simply didn’t exist. Bob regularly takes to the open road on his motorcycle, many of Travel Department’s destinations are inspired by these road trips, exploring every nook and cranny around the world.

James has worked across many sectors of the travel industry working for brands such as Thomas Cook, Abercrombie & Kent and Cox & Kings. A travel fanatic, his love of globetrotting has led him across the world for both work and leisure and he loves nothing more than exploring new destinations with his family and friends. China, Italy and Botswana are just a few of his favourite destinations.

John is a graduate of UCD (B.Comm) and the University of Colorado (MBA) and has professional qualifications in accountancy (FCA) and taxation (AITI). He lived in the USA and Australia and loves to combine sport with travel.

Ola works in the accounts department. He has travelled to Beijing, Rome, Barcelona, Madeira, Lisbon, Lake Garda, Verona, Istanbul and Vancouver as well as many other destinations. His favourite destination is Barcelona because of its spectacular food and music. 

John has over 10 years finance experience. He worked previously in tourism, retail and practice. He graduated from WIT, he then went on to qualify as an Accountant in 2012. His favourite destinations are Canada and New Zealand.

Originally from Brazil, Monica graduated in Accounting. She moved to Ireland in a language exchange in 2018 and joined Travel Department in 2023 as an Accounts Payable Assistant / Trainee Accountant. She is passionate about travel and numbers, so the best combination for her was to merge the two passions working in finance at Travel Department. Monica hopes to explore Asia as her next travel destination. 

John works closely with a team of software developers to help create and improve Travel Department’s IT systems. In 2013 he travelled from Cape Town all the way around the garden route in South Africa.

Originally from Argentina, Sebastian moved to Ireland for new adventures and challenges. He is a passionate developer with 7 years of experience and a proud member of the IT team. His travel goals are Japan, Germany, and Norway because of their amazing history.

Aayush started with the company in 2022. He is a Lead Developer who loves to travel. Aayush is passionate about both technology and exploring new cultures and experiences. His goal is to explore the beautiful cities of Europe – Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and more.

Adrien joined Travel Department in 2023 as a PHP Developer. He is a Web Development enthusiast who loves a challenge. He takes pride in his creativity and curiosity. In 2020, Adrien hiked and camped in the Pyrenees for a week. His favourite destination is Quebec, Canada where he lived for 2 months and fell in love with the culture and the wilderness.

Claire oversees everything to do with the production of the tours from beginning to end. She has worked in travel since leaving school and loves to visit new destinations but wants to return to the Deep South USA.

Fátima joined the company in 2014. As a Revenue Manager she is in charge of monitoring the performance of our tours. She works closely with other departments to ensure our margins are in line with the company targets. Working in the travel industry gives her the opportunity to do what she loves the most – travelling and discovering new countries!

Grace joined the company in 2014. She is our Customer Services Manager and the customer champion within the business. She also looks after our Health and Safety programme “Safety Matters” ensuring the highest possible safety standards for all our tours. Some of her favourite places she has travelled are Italy, Croatia and India.

Francesca comes from Italy, and she has lived for many years in different European countries. She started her career in the legal sector, before deciding to follow her passion for travel and move to the tourism industry. She has gained significant experience leading multinational teams with enthusiasm and energy and has enriched her resume by completing an MBA in International Business Management with a focus on Sustainable Tourism. She loves to create warm relationship and satisfy her appetite to experience the world, near and far, travelling as much as possible.

Leah is a member of our Product department, specialising in long haul destinations. Leah loves travelling to exotic locations and is passionate about adventure travel, wildlife and photography. Leah’s favourite holiday destination is Colombia, Canada and Mexico.

From teaching English in Hungary to spending a year travelling around the world, Lucy has extensive experience and a passion for exploring new countries & cultures. One of her favourite destinations is Tanzania.

Niamh is a member of the Products team, focusing on European destinations. Her biggest adventure to date was a 4-month solo trip around South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand in 2018. Her favourite destination is Thailand.

Kerrie manages all flight inventory & operations for Travel Department. Kerrie’s favourite destination is Greece, especially the Islands because of the friendly people, gorgeous food and fantastic weather.

Sowmya has completed a Masters in Tourism & Hospitality. She is currently working as a Sales & Customer Service Executive and is a real travel enthusiast. She tries to explore new destinations and so far she has travelled to many countries in Asia, Europe and Switzerland which is her all-time favourite destination. Sowmya would love to do an under sea walk in the waters of Pattaya again.

Originally from France, Pauline walked the whole coastline of Ireland on her own in 2018, before settling in Dublin. She set foot on the 5 continents before turning 20 and has now visited every country in Europe. She then completed a solo cycling trip across Eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the Adriatic in 2022. She loves discovering new destinations, off the beaten track, and really enjoys creating new tours for our customers.

Aine is a member of the Products team. Aine is passionate about travel and spent 8 weeks interrailing solo visiting 13 counties across Europe. Her favourite destination is New York and Lake Bled.

Ashleigh joined the Travel Department team in 2023 as a Product Executive. Originally from Australia, Ashleigh moved to Ireland over 6 years ago. She has a keen interest in travelling and learning new cultures. Some of her favourite places to visit are Canada and Italy.

Originally from Croatia, Dea has been exploring Ireland since 2018. After a few years in County Kerry, she decided to look for more opportunities in Dublin and joined Travel Department in 2023. She originally joined our very busy Sales team and has quickly moved on to tackle more challenges as a new member of our Products team. She loves to travel, explore other cultures and try their culinary delicacies. Dea has travelled through most of Europe and has set her eyes on travelling further abroad, Japan being first on her list.

Originally from Italy, Tiziana moved to Ireland in 2003. She studied Art in UCD and began working in the travel industry after her graduation. She loves travelling and has been to many places around the world: Japan, Mexico, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand and the USA, just to name a few.

Alison is our HR / Office manager. One of her favourite trips was a 7-month long adventure visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. She has skied in numerous countries. Her favourite destination is Canada.

Nicole joined Travel Department in 2022. She has been passionate about travel since a young age, obtaining an honour’s degree in International Tourism and Hospitality Management. She’s previously worked as cabin crew seeing various parts of the world before starting at Travel Department. Her favourite destinations has been Japan and South Korea, so much so she plans to revisit them.

Jack manages our Customer Service to ensure the best care is provided to our clients. He has a wealth of travel experience particularly as he lived in Brazil for over 2 years. He has also travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Eindhoven, Glasgow and many more. Living in Brazil was quite an experience for Jack, from the food to the people, the weather and the scenery, nothing was short of amazing.

Nikhil joined Travel Department in 2023. He has a Masters in Travel and Tourism Management. He currently works with us as an Operations Executive. He loves to explore lots of destinations all around the world. Paris, Switzerland, and Scandinavian are countries on his bucket list.

Originally from South Africa, Aglaia moved to Ireland in June 2023. She has been working in the tourism industry for the past 15 years. She previously worked as a Travel Specialist focusing on inbound tours to South Africa and now works with us as an Operations Executive. Her passion has always been dealing with groups and organizing their tours. Her favourite destinations are Hong Kong and Singapore.

Halana is a Business Administrator with over 10 years of experience in the travel industry. She loves the slow travel concept, and her goal is to explore almost every corner of the globe. Southeast Asia has her heart, and she has a deep passion for creating extraordinary experiences.

Yvonne joined Travel Department in August 2017 and has over 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing across a wide range of businesses. A seasoned traveller, Yvonne has been to many destinations near and far and favourites include Argentina, Walking (parts!) of the Camino De Santiago and Costa Rica.

Brian joined Travel Department as our Sales & Contact Centre Manager in April 2022. Brian has worked in travel for over 22 years with Thomsons & Lunn Poly in the UK before moving to Ireland in 2002 where he has been a manger in both a Travel agent & Tour operator. Brian has travelled extensively through Europe & beyond however his favourite spot is Abu Dhabi. He strives to give customers a quick and easy booking experience with a smile!  

Stephen oversees our UK business. Having lived and travelled in South and Central America including Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Cuba and Honduras – he is very much a seasoned traveller finding any excuse to visit somewhere new.

James joined Travel Department in 2019 after several years working across telco and travel industries for brands such as Carphone Warehouse and City Wonders. James is responsible for acquisition, retention and strategy as well as creating an ecommerce experience customer’s love. His favourite destination is South Africa and has many more places on his bucket list to visit including Egypt, Vietnam & Peru.

Ciara manages the brand positioning in all communications ensuring consistency of messaging. One of her favourite things to do is plan her next holiday. Next to tick off on her bucket list is South America!

Gina manages the social media and website content. In 2008 she travelled by bus from London to Sydney, visiting many extraordinary countries, like Iran, Pakistan and Nepal. Ever since she loves to travel to new and exciting destinations ever year!

Amey has been working in Digital Marketing for over 5 years. He joined Travel Department in 2023 as a Digital Marketing Executive. His role allows him nurture his passions which are travel and digital marketing. He is a trained Bansuri player (Indian bamboo flute).His dream is to experience the beautiful Northern Lights someday.

Chris is our Senior Graphic Designer & Team Leader, he has visited many destinations across the world, and still has a few he would like to tick off his bucket list

Eve creates the print and promotional material. Her favourite travel destinations are Egypt for the historic ruins, the Canaries for the sun and Italy for the food. Her dream holidays would include trips to America, Australia, India and China.

Patrick has been interested in travel since a young age and has previously worked in the aviation industry before joining Travel Department. His favourite trips so far have been to Canada, France & Portugal. He hopes to explore Jordan & the Holy land in the future.

Julio joined the team in 2024. He looks after our website content and has an extensive background in sales, marketing, and hospitality. He is passionate about travel and loves to explore new destinations and tasting local cuisines. His favourite adventures include trekking the Camino de Santiago and visiting Qatar. Next on his bucket list is experiencing the vibrant culture of Japan.

Ceara has travelled to many Travel Department destinations and her favourite are the beautiful and incredible cities of St Petersburg and Moscow.

Caroline is a Senior Sales Executive based in Arnotts. She has travelled extensively since joining the company, some of her favourite destinations are South Africa, New York, Iceland, Moscow, St Petersburg and Tuscany.

Joanne has a wealth of experience in the travel industry. She has travelled extensively in Asia, The Middle East, Australia, North America and Europe, and was lucky to experience hot air ballooning and open sided helicopter rides.

Owen began his career in travel completing a Diploma in Travel with the Irish Travel Agents Association. He has worked for Aer Lingus and Qantas in London and his favourite destinations are Tioman Island, the South China Sea and Berlin.

Malcolm joined the team in 2022. He has over 7 years’ experience in the travel industry specialising in sports, events & group travel. He has a BA Degree in Tourism Management from Technical University Dublin (TUD). His favourite destinations are USA, South of France and of course Tenerife for some sun and golf! He would love to travel to more long-haul destinations in the future.

Hannah joined Travel Department in 2022 as one of our Sales & Customer Service agents and is primarily based in our store in Arnotts. She graduated with Honours having studied Tourism & Travel. She has travelled mainly around Europe and her favourites destinations so far would be Italy, Sweden, and Poland. Hannah would love to visit Iceland, Australia and Japan in the near future.

Sarah is new to working in the travel industry but has a level 5 QQI award in Travel and Airline Studies. She loves to travel and one of her favourite destinations is Rome. She also loved Tenerife where she worked in the tourism industry for 3 weeks as part of her college course to pass successfully.

Zak joined the Travel Department in early 2023 as a Sales & Customer Service Agent following his studies in Travel & Tourism and is predominantly based in Arnotts. Zak is a keen traveller and his favourite destinations include Barcelona, Berlin and Tokyo. Next on his list are Egypt, Greece, and Thailand.

Amelia joined Travel Department in 2023 and is enjoying her time here immensely. She is a dedicated and passionate Sales & Customer Service Agent who excels in building strong relationships with customers. Amelia is an avid traveller, with Iceland being her favourite destination due to its stunning black volcanic beaches, northern lights, and the Blue Lagoon. She is currently pursuing studies in Communications to further enhance her skills.

Vanessa comes to us from Canada and has spent many years living and travelling around the world. She is our Tailormade Groups Account Manager and takes customer service to the next level! She spent 3 years working on cruise ships all over the world, travelling through Asia, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, and many other countries. Vanessa loves hiking and exploring new destinations, her favourites so far being Thailand, Costa Rica, and Japan.

Michelle joined Travel Department in 2022. Originally from South Africa, Michelle moved to Ireland in 2002. She has worked in the hospitality and travel industry for over 25 years and loves to travel and explore the world. Throughout her career Michelle has had the pleasure of travelling to some amazing destinations around the world. Some of her favourite places to visit are Mauritius, Maldives, Thailand, South America and of course her homeland South Africa.