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High-flying travel boss will champion Wrexham

High-flying travel boss will champion Wrexham at business leaders event A HIGH-FLYING travel firm boss who has created more than 50 jobs in less than a year will tell Wrexham business leaders how his 35-store empire remains rooted in the heart of the town. Don Bircham, Managing Director of Hays Travel North West, will share the secrets of his success with members of an influential business group, Wrexham Business Professionals (WBP) on Friday September 21. The group is made up of successful businesses and highly skilled professional firms of solicitors, accountants and other business professionals working together to raise the profile of enterprise and expertise that exists in the region and beyond. The event, to be held at the Catrin Finch Centre, in Wrexham, will be entitled ‘Powering Regional Prosperity - The Direction of Travel’. The other keynote speaker will be Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport. Don started his career in the travel industry, straight out of school, almost 40 years ago when he got a job with a local travel agent at the age of 16 in his home town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. Later working for Thomas Cook, he soon climbed the career ladder and was offered a regional manager position for North Wales and Merseyside which brought him and his young family to live in Mold. His chain of 35 independent travel agencies, located throughout North Wales and the North West, now employs 200 people and has a turnover in excess of £ 75m. It is the main partner of the hugely successful Hays Travel based in Sunderland which has just announced a turnover of more than £1bn and is the UK’s largest independent travel agency. Don’s own firm is on a major expansion trajectory by itself, having opened seven new stores, including branches in Rhyl and Colwyn Bay, in the last eight months. He has also introduced a £ 1m rolling programme of refurbishments for a large...... more ›