Former Perowne International chief operating officer Aurelia van Lynden has joined experiential travel and yachting company Pelorus as director of travel. 

The newly created role will see Lynden be responsible for spearheading travel sales and operations, working with the team to drive company growth, overseeing financial management, client strategy and operations. 

Lyden has more than 10 years of experience in the luxury travel industry. 

During her nearly three-year stint at sales representation company Perowne International, Lynden was responsible for the operational side of the business and growing the hotel consultancy division to drive company growth. 

Prior to that, she worked in tour operations for Abercrombie & Kent, where she built and grew the Private Clients division, as well as expanding the Ultra Luxury product portfolio. 

Lynden said: “I’m thrilled to have joined Pelorus, and to lead a team who plan truly bespoke, life-enriching trips for its clients.  My top choices for travel in 2023 would be horse riding on Iceland’s black sand beaches, hiking and paragliding in the Dolomites and exploring Gabon’s untouched wilderness.”

Pelorus said Lynden would bring “a wealth of relevant travel expertise to the role” and said she had a “proven track record of building global luxury travel brands”.

A statement from the brand added the new role would “give more strategic structure to the travel arm of the business”.

“We are hugely excited about Aurelia joining Pelorus as director of travel and to her building on the success already achieved by the team,” said Geordie Mackay-Lewis, founder of Pelorus.

“She brings a unique set of skills and track record from highly regarded brands and industry leaders. Her passion for experiential travel, brand building and leadership will accelerate our growth strategy and project the brand globally.”

Pelorus said it builds each holiday "from scratch" and places the emphasis on the experience at the heart of the trip, such as skiing, hiking, surfing or fishing, before introducing other aspects like accommodation.