The appointment of Mark Renshaw – who joins from luxury PR agency Perowne International – to the newly-created role will be formally announced at a dinner held for agents and suppliers near Exsus’s Baker Street headquarters on Thursday, October 18.

It comes after TTG revealed Exsus’s intention to recommence selling through the trade after “many years”, with the appointment of former If Only head of sales Neil Sealy as head of trade sales in June.

Exsus managing director Habib Rehman told TTG recruitment for Renshaw’s position had taken six months “because we won’t settle for what we think is second best”.

“The people we’re bringing in are reflecting the passion we have for this business,” added Rehman.

Exsus has also revealed it is working on a brochure for the first time in 10 years “off the back of the initial support seen from the trade”.

Approximately 80 pages, it will be ready in time for the peak selling period.

“We’re trying to produce a brochure that has a longer shelf life, to inspire,” said Rehman. “If an agent has a client who has a slightly higher budget, this will give them an idea about what Exsus does and what we can curate for them.

“It’s not just about the itineraries but also the experiences they could have – there might be a list of our top experiences for each country.”

Rehman revealed that while Exsus wasn’t initially planning on producing a brochure, he had been “pleasantly surprised by what Neil’s achieved in a short space of time”.

In terms of pricing, Rehman said Exsus benchmarks much of what it does “to make sure our suppliers are giving us the best rates they can”. “We will go back and fight on behalf of our clients,” he said.

Sealy added: “Initial feedback from the trade suggests we are very competitive.”

Exsus has more events in the pipeline and is planning “exciting” agent fam trips for 2019.