Tributes have been paid to the former Kuoni Chief Executive and TUI Travel Deputy Chief Executive Peter Rothwell, who passed away yesterday (4 October), aged 67.
Peter’s wife, Michelle, posted on social media yesterday: “Today, my husband, best friend, ski mountaineering race buddy, aerobatic pilot and ex-boss, Peter Rothwell died at our home in Oxfordshire.
“As some of you may know Peter had battled with metastatic prostate cancer for almost 20 years. However, during those years, he raced iron man events across Europe, completed the world’s toughest ski endurance race (PDG) and loved rising to any challenge.
“Most of all he loved sharing his passion for all of this with his friends and acquaintances. You are so loved and missed.”
After completing his masters degree in French and German from Oxford, alongside student jobs as a Eurocamp courier, Peter joined Thomson Holidays as a graduate trainee in 1982.
He went on to become Marketing Director at Lunn Poly before leaving to join Jetset, returning to Thomson in 1993 as Sales Director.
He joined MyTravel, then Airtours, where he became Managing Director of Airtours Holidays, before returning to Thomson in March 2002 as COO.
He was appointed Chief Executive of TUI Northern Europe later in 2002 and went on to become Deputy Chief Executive of TUI Travel. In 2008, he became Chief Executive of Kuoni, a position he held until 2013.
In a LinkedIn post, former colleague and industry veteran Steve Endacott remembered Peter both as a mentor and friend.
Steve, who first worked with Peter at Airtours in 1996, said: “I will miss having someone I trusted, whose opinion mattered, and whose company I enjoyed. He brought the same qualities to friendship that he brought to leadership: he always listened without judgment, offered perspective, and helped people find their own way forward, without ever needing to take the credit.
“Peter, you made me a better leader and gave me a friendship I valued enormously.
“I always appreciated your quiet certainty, your generosity and the pleasure of being alongside you, whether at work, at the rugby or trying to keep up on a mountain. Thank you for everything you taught me, and for all the good times we shared. Rest in peace, bud.”
Technomine Group Global Sales and Operations Director Chris Oakes, who also worked with Peter at Airtours, posted: “Legend is a word we use a lot in the travel industry, but for me Peter was something more than that.
“He was a pioneer – one of the people who helped shape an extraordinary period in the British travel industry and whose contribution extended well beyond his years at Airtours.”
