Virgin Atlantic appoints Travelodge's Greg Dawson as corporate comms director

Dawson is currently director of communications for Travelodge hotels. He will join the airline on the 7 June.
 
He replaces former comms director Paul Charles, who became COO of Lewis PR earlier this year.
 
Virgin Atlantic's CEO Steve Ridgway said: ‘Virgin Atlantic has a strong reputation for its approach to PR and I am confident that Greg will be able to build on these strengths further and secure many positive column inches for the airline when he joins us in June.'
 
Dawson commented: ‘Virgin Atlantic is the challenger brand of our generation and I'm very excited about being part of it. Like Travelodge, I am looking forward to leading a strong team of communicators and growing its influence within its key stakeholder groups.'
 
Dawson joined Travelodge in 2005 to boost the budget hotel chain's consumer and corporate profile as former owners Permira prepared the business for sale. During his time at the hotel company, Dawson increased its brand awareness from 70 to 99 per cent.
 
Prior to his role at Travelodge, Dawson was head of PR at Churchill Insurance and also held various roles at J Sainsbury.  

Virgin Atlantic's head of PR Anna Knowles will continue to manage the airline's press office.