The holiday company is restructuring its sales and marketing function, splitting the combined chief sales and marketing officer position into CMO and CCO roles.
Former Merlin Entertainments UK and Europe group sales and marketing director, Sara Holt, will join Center Parcs UK and Ireland as CMO.
Holt steps into the role as the short-break holiday company restructures its sales and marketing function, splitting the combined chief sales and marketing officer position into two – chief commercial officer (CCO) and CMO.
Joining in March, Holt will take over from the current chief sales and marketing officer, Colin Whaley, who is retiring after 20 years of leading the combined function. Richard Sofer, former commercial and business development director at TUI UK and Ireland, joined as CCO earlier this month.
“Colin’s decision to retire from Center Parcs gave us the opportunity to look at our structure in a slightly different way and review both the marketing and commercial functions, as we move into the next exciting chapter for the business,” explains CEO Colin McKinlay.
In her new role, Holt will be responsible for brand marketing, digital marketing, ecommerce, corporate communications and PR, while Sofer will be responsible for revenue management and the corporate events business.
After a handover period, Whaley is expected to leave his role at Center Parcs by the end of April 2025.
Holt joined Merlin Entertainments in 2019 as UK and Ireland sales and marketing director. She was promoted twice in 2023, expanding her remit to oversee all divisions and operating groups in the UK, as well as the resort theme parks business in Europe. Holt led a team of 150, managed a £30m marketing budget and was responsible for a £700m P&L.
Before Merlin, she served as digital marketing director at Lego from 2017 to 2019. Holt previously spent four years at BBC Worldwide, starting as head of brand and global campaigns in 2013, before advancing to vice-president of global franchise marketing and digital planning in 2017.
She was also named one of Marketing Week’s top 100 most effective marketers five years in a row.
A replacement for Holt at Merlin Entertainments has not yet been announced.
