Irene Hays

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|

British businesswoman and former civil servant

Dame

Irene Hays

DBE DL

Born|

Irene Lucas

(1954-02-04) 4 February 1954 (age 71)

Gosforth, England

Occupation| Businesswoman
Title| Chair & owner, Hays Travel
Term| 2009–present
Predecessor| John Hays
Spouse|

John Hays

(m. 1997; died 2020)​

Children| 2

Dame Irene Hays DBE DL (née Lucas; born 4 February 1954) is a British businesswoman and former civil servant. She is the owner and chair of Hays Travel, the largest independent travel agent in the UK, which she jointly owned with her husband John Hays until his death in 2020.

## Early life

[edit]

Hays was born Irene Lucas in Gosforth on 4 February 1954 and grew up in Ashington, the daughter of Vincent and Isabelle Lucas.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Hays worked in local government, rising to the position of chief executive of South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council.[2] She was later an advisor to Ministers and Secretaries of State in Whitehall and served as a Permanent Secretary.[2][3] In 1980, her late husband John founded Hays Travel in the back of his mother's children's wear store in Seaham, Durham.[4] Irene now owns the majority share.[5]

She has been the chair of the Hays Travel Group since 2009. She was a non-executive board member at the Department for Education between November 2018 and December 2021 and was also chair of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) management board.[6] Irene was a board member of Sport England and The Academy for Sustainable Communities and a director general at the Department of Communities and Local Government. [7]

Under her leadership, the company has expanded significantly, operating nearly 500 retail outlets nationwide and generating a turnover of approximately £423.5 million in the fiscal year ending April 2023, with gross sales reaching £2.2 billion.[8]

Hays has been instrumental in driving Hays Travel's success, notably leading the acquisition of Thomas Cook's retail operations in 2019, saving over 2,000 jobs. [9] Since then, Hays Travel has acquired five other businesses,[10] both retail and online. Hays Travel also carries out the back-office support services for 120 independent travel agencies across the UK.[citation needed]

## Honours

[edit]

Hays was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to local government[2][3] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to training, education, and young people.[11] and served as High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear from April 2023 to April 2024. [12]

In December 2018, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sunderland.[13] Hays has also been awarded an honorary MBA.[14] She was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne & Wear in 2020.[15]

## Personal life

[edit]

In 1997, she married John Hays. They have one son and one daughter.[1] John was the company's CEO.[2] He died on 13 November 2020, after collapsing from cardiac arrest at the company's Sunderland head office.[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Lucas, Irene, (Mrs John Hays)". Lucas, Irene, (MRS John Hays), (Born 4 Feb. 1954), private consultant, since 2011; Chair, Hays Travel Group, since 2011; Senior Adviser, Newton Europe, since 2011. Who's Who. 2008. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U247160.
2. ^ a b c d Ford, Coreena (9 October 2019). "Meet the couple behind Hays Travel as they offer hope to thousands of Thomas Cook staff". Chronicle. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
3. ^ a b "Irene Lucas CBE". RSA. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
4. ^ Davies, Rob (11 October 2019). "'We're no country bumpkins': Meet the couple who bought Thomas Cook". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
5. ^ "Hays Travel Limited". Global Database. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
6. ^ "ESFA welcomes new Management Board Chair Irene Lucas CBE". FE News. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
7. ^ "Irene Lucas". GOV.UK.
8. ^ Sugiura, Eri (9 October 2024). "Hays Travel hunts for deals to expand presence on UK high street".
9. ^ "The story of Hays Travel's Thomas Cook takeover: 'new-found freedom' and 'leading from the front'". TTG. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024.
10. ^ "Hays Travel | About Us | UK's largest independent travel agency - Hays Travel". www.haystravel.co.uk.
11. ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N7.
12. ^ "Hays Travel owner Dame Irene Hays becomes High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear". Shields Gazette. 10 April 2023.
13. ^ Mayling, Samantha (12 December 2018). "Irene Hays receives honorary doctorate". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
14. ^ "Who are Hays Travel? The business success story as firm set to save 2,500 jobs with deal to buy 555 Thomas Cook stores". Sunderland Echo. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
15. ^ Deputy Lieutenant Commissions, thegazette.co.uk. Accessed 25 November 2022.
16. ^ "Hays Travel founder John Hays dies after collapsing at Sunderland office while 'doing the job he loved'". sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.

*[m.]: married