Dale Sourbutts appointed boss of Cruise 1st

Dale Sourbutts has been appointed manager director of Cruise 1st taking over the UK operation from CEO Dan Townsley. 

Sourbutts has been with Cruise1st since 2014 holding positions including head of call centres and general manager. He’s previously worked with Thomas Cook and Althams Travel.

Townsley is to become managing director of parent company Dreamlines Group working alongside Danyal Taraghi and Felix Schneider.

Sourbutts said: “Taking on the role of managing director after five years at Cruise1st is a tremendous honour.  Having been involved in ground breaking activity during this time, from the opening of the first interactive and immersive cruise store in the UK to our acquisition by Dreamlines and the ensuing expansion, I can’t wait to now work even closer with the amazing team here to continue to grow the business and spearhead future innovative initiatives.”

Townsley added: “Dale has excellent commercial acumen and a proven track record of delivering focused, strategic, operational improvements that contribute to individual skills development, team dynamics and bottom-line performance.  He has also managed global teams within Cruise1st which have proved instrumental in the success of the business. 

“My confidence in appointing Dale as the new Managing Director has made it possible for me to take a step back from Cruise1st and take on my new role as joint Managing Director of the Dreamlines Group. I’m greatly looking forward to utilising my knowledge and experience to replicate the great success we have made with the Cruise1st brand across the wider Dreamlines business.”

Schneider said: “Following our acquisition of Cruise1st last year, it was always part of our strategy to involve Dan and his expertise in the wider global business to help expand our current cruise holiday portfolio.  This growth will be a key factor for our future success, so now seemed the perfect time to get Dan onboard to get started.”