Peter Fankauser is marking his official return to travel after a three-year absence, as he takes on the role of chairman at Germany’s itravel Group.
He has also previously been an investor and consultant at the Cologne-based tour operator.
Fankauser was CEO of Thomas Cook Group from 2014 up until its collapse in September 2019. The travel giant’s bankruptcy left 600,000 tourists stranded, 21,000 employees without jobs and a financial black hole $12 billion.
Fankhauser was grilled by UK politicians afterwards, alongside other execs, as the government tried to figure out what went wrong. At the time much was made of the millions former leaders made, through salaries and bonuses, despite the company collapsing.
According to reports, Fankhauser received almost $10 million in salary and bonuses between 2014 and 2018.
Another former CEO, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, last year became president of a new joint venture formed by the merger of Logitravel and Spanish agency group Viajes El Corte Ingles.
Tags: bankruptcy, germany, thomas cook