Sister river cruise lines Scenic and Emerald Waterways have announced a series of updates to their senior management team.

The brands will place greater emphasis on trade relations with the appointment of Chris Barker, formerly group head of marketing at Manchester Airports Group and head of marketing at Shearings Holidays, into the position of head of marketing UK.

Barker will steer the overall marketing strategy for both brands focussing on key areas of growth in the trade and digital sectors and will join the Manchester-based team in April.

His appointment comes alongside a shift in the company’s sales team as national sales manager, Angela Sloan steps into the new position of head of sales UK with immediate effect. Sloan will work directly under managing director UK, Chris Townson.

Scenic and Emerald Waterways added new sales managers, Simon McDermott (previously Avalon and Ama Waterways) and Wendi Hardy (previously P&O and Cunard) to the trade-facing team alongside William Young, Dawn Quinn and Lucy Hone earlier this month.

Chris Townson, MD UK, said: “The addition of Chris Barker, a truly commercial and dynamic marketer with a previous tour operator skill set is a perfect fit within our expanding business to drive and mature our direct and trade market offering.