Hotwire Group hires Barbara Bates as CEO

Barbara Bates has been appointed as Group CEO at Hotwire, following the departure of Brendon Craigie in March.

Bates was most recently North American CEO of Hotwire following the acquisition of her agency Eastwick, an integrated communications agency in Silicon Valley.

Bates will report to Matthew Melhuish, CEO of parent company Enero, and she will oversee Hotwire’s Global Leadership Team comprising Andy West, Adrian Talbot, Alex MacLaverty and Heather Kernahan.

Kernahan will continue to lead Hotwire’s US operations in her role as President, North America.

Bates said: “It’s an honour to lead an agency with the ambition and passion abundant in Hotwire. There is a constant drive for innovation and fresh thinking and it is my goal to lead the charge as we spread our wings even further, opening up new markets, services and opportunities across the world.

“We are totally focused on delivering an exceptional experience for our clients and our team, challenging the standard agency model, and I can’t wait to show the world what we’re made of.”

Melhuish added: “Barbara has the experience and skill to nurture the huge appetite and opportunity there is for growth within the business, and she brings a fresh perspective and a background of challenging the norm that will bring out the ‘edge’ in Hotwire.

We have already seen a number of international successes as a result of the acquisition last year and I am sure this will continue as Barbara works with the existing GLT and our team around the world to take the business to even greater heights.”