Travel Counsellors has appointed David Jack as its new chief technology officer with immediate effect, tasking him with developing the company’s AI features and continuing investment in booking and cruise technology.
Experienced technologist to lead AI and platform work
Jack joins the travel entrepreneur platform from Tunstall Healthcare, where he served as CTO and led a programme of technology transformation, including the adoption of artificial intelligence across manufacturing, supply chain, product development and security. His previous roles include serving as CIO of Trainline and holding CTO and CIO positions at wejo, MetaPack, dunnhumby and insurer Howden.
The technology areas he will lead at Travel Counsellors include TC CoPilot, an AI-powered assistant intended to boost productivity, deepen customer personalisation and streamline day-to-day tasks, alongside further work on the company’s booking platforms and cruise technology.
Leadership change follows departure of longtime CTO
Jack succeeds Jon Bauer, who joined Travel Counsellors as CTO during the COVID pandemic and departed earlier this month. Bauer reflected on his time at the company on LinkedIn:
“I take a huge amount of satisfaction from what we built across technology, product, data and AI, but more than anything I’ll remember the people. TC is a rare and special business, and there aren’t many organisations quite like it. What makes it special is the people and the care they have for each other, the business and their customers. I’ve been lucky to work with some brilliant people over the last six years and I leave with a lot of friendships as well as professional relationships.”
Steve Byrne, chief executive of Travel Counsellors, paid tribute to Bauer’s contribution in leading the technology function through a period of substantial investment and development. The company said Bauer leaves with a “truly world-class and scalable” technology foundation.
What the appointment means for Travel Counsellors
The hire signals a clear emphasis on using AI to enhance agent productivity and customer personalisation across Travel Counsellors’ platform. Key immediate priorities identified by the firm — and which fall under the new CTO’s remit — are:
- Developing and scaling TC CoPilot as an AI assistant for agents;
- Investing in booking platforms to support the core business;
- Enhancing cruise technology to support that market segment.
Those initiatives align with Jack’s recent experience at Tunstall, where he deployed AI across multiple operational areas, and his background in transport and consumer data platforms. The combination of platform engineering, data and AI experience is relevant to a business that sells its technology to independent travel entrepreneurs and relies on both agent productivity tools and transactional booking systems.
Background: Jack’s career highlights
| Role | Organisation | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| CTO | Tunstall Healthcare | Technology transformation and AI across manufacturing, supply chain, product development and security |
| CIO | Trainline | Transport ticketing and consumer travel platform (senior technology leadership) |
| CTO / CIO | wejo, MetaPack, dunnhumby, Howden | Roles across connected vehicle data, eCommerce delivery software, data science and insurance technology |
Travel Counsellors provides a technology platform for independent travel agents and has been investing in digital tools and AI to support advisers and their customers. The appointment of a senior executive with hands-on experience of deploying AI at scale and running consumer-facing platforms suggests the company intends to press ahead with product development rather than pause following the recent leadership change.
How quickly Jack can translate that experience into measurable improvements for advisers and customers will be a key watchpoint for the company’s partners and competitors. For a platform that sells software and services to small businesses and relies on agent productivity, the effectiveness of AI features such as TC CoPilot — and their integration with booking and cruise technology — will determine whether the investment drives revenue growth or mainly reduces internal costs.
The appointment is effective immediately; Travel Counsellors has not published further detail on a timeline for product roll-outs or on changes to its technology leadership team beyond the named succession.
