Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) has appointed a new chief marketing officer, Joachim Holte.

The former Kmart marketing executive will be responsible for leading the brand’s marketing and digital experience departments in Australia.

Holte has 18 years of diverse experience in Australia and overseas across the travel, retail, finance and media sectors.

Having worked for one of Europe’s specialised ski travel agencies (Iglu.com) and the product comparison site Kelkoo, he relocated to Australia in 2004 and worked at both Wotif.com and Yahoo! before heading up marketing at two start-ups, Ratecity.com.au and Wayfair Australia.

He then returned to Wotif.com, where his last role as executive general manager for Australia and New Zealand saw him heading up product, marketing and strategy for Wotif.com’s key business unit.

Holte also spent three-and-a-half years with travel comparison site Wego.com as chief marketing officer based in Singapore, before taking on his most recent role as head of digital marketing at Kmart, one of Australia’s most loved retail brands.

On his appointment, he said: “I’m excited to be joining one of the most iconic travel brands in Australia and look forward to going on the next steps on the journey with the passionate team at Flight Centre.

“The opportunities for growth and innovation are only limited by our imaginations as the global demand for travel offerings continues to grow and change.

“Flight Centre has a long history of being a game changing brand and I feel privileged to be going on the next steps of that journey.”

In his new role, Holte will report to Allisa O’Connell, Flight Centre’s executive general manager.

O’Connell said: “We are pleased to welcome Joachim and believe he will play a valuable role in our brand’s ongoing evolution.

“Exciting initiatives are already underway to ensure we maintain a strong customer-centric focus and to enhance the customer experience and product offering across multiple sales channels within the flagship Flight Centre brand.”