Travel Regulations Conference

Oliver Clark joined ABTA as Public Affairs Manager in January 2024. He leads the organisation’s engagement with elected officials across all four UK nations, advocating for the travel industry and building relationships with parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to secure support for ABTA’s policy priorities. Oliver and the wider ABTA Public Affairs Team support members by helping them navigate parliamentary processes, stay informed on policy developments, and address both challenges and opportunities arising from the political landscape.

Paul is Senior Director - Global Leisure, Travel and Trends at Mintel, bringing over a decade of expertise in the market research industry. Throughout his career, he has worked across a diverse range of consumer sectors, including travel, leisure, foodservice, technology, media, and financial services. Since leading Mintel's UK travel team in 2018, Paul has become a prominent voice in the industry, delivering presentations at high profile events such as World Travel Market London and ABTA's Luxury Travel Conference. He has also shared his insights with several leading travel companies, solidifying his reputation as a trusted expert in the field.

Sinead is a Travel Analyst at Mintel, providing consumer insights on the travel sector. Her role involves writing in-depth consumer reports, identifying innovation opportunities, and undertaking market analysis to provide a holistic view of the travel landscape for clients. 

Ezequiel has over 15 years’ international experience advising on complex transactions, regulatory frameworks, and commercial contracts, with particular focus on technology, payments, travel, hospitality, marine, transportation and logistics sectors. Multilingual and dual-qualified (England & Wales and Argentina, a civil law jurisdiction), he advises on major cross-border projects, business transformations, and high-value negotiations for global clients.

Before joining Hill Dickinson, he advised leading organisations including Volkswagen, Mediterranean Shipping Company Group, and American Express Global Business Travel, as well as clients in private practice; on complex commercial, regulatory, and cross-border matters supporting consistent business growth and compliance across EMEA, Americas and APAC regions. He has spoken at international forums including the UNCITRAL Congress (Vienna) and London IP Week, and his work has been published by UNCITRAL and in legal texts on commercial and transportation contracts.

Ezequiel specialises in complex commercial transactions, regulatory frameworks, and multi-jurisdictional compliance, with a focus on the technology, payments, travel, hospitality, marine, transportation and logistics sectors. His work includes high-value negotiations, cross-border joint ventures, and business transformation projects. He advises clients on regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions and provides pragmatic, commercially focused legal solutions that balance innovation with risk, particularly in regulated environments such as payment services, travel technology platforms, and logistics operations.

Ezequiel is a dual-qualified Solicitor (England & Wales and Argentina, a civil law jurisdiction) and holds: (i) an Executive MBA with focus on Corporate Leadership from Warwick Business School (London, UK), (ii) an LLM in International Shipping Law from Queen Mary University of London (London, UK), and (iii) an MSc in Economic Business Law from Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany). He speaks Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Chris Wright is Group Managing Director of Sunvil and has served on ABTA's Board of Directors since November 2024. He is a senior travel industry professional with 26 years of experience in strategic management, business development, operations, aviation, retail travel and industry regulation.

After acquiring degrees in both the UK and Australia, Chris began his career in travel at Tui in 2000. In 2007 Chris joined the startup online travel agency Travelrepublic, being promoted to the board and helping the business grow before a sale to Dnata in 2011.

Following Travelrepublic, Chris joined the board of online travel agency Loveholidays until departing in 2017 to start The Adventure People. The business grew throughout the Covid pandemic and secured a +£2m investment in January 2023. The business has since thrived and is recognised as one of the fastest growing businesses in the travel space.
 

Sarah has over 28 years in the Travel industry, with a specialisation in the cruise sector.  She is the Global Legal and Compliance Director for Imagine Cruising and has been part of the senior team since the company’s launch in 2011.  She is also responsible for People and Culture globally. She has steered the company’s UK and overseas teams through all matters, pandemic, and post-pandemic, relating to location specific compliance and regulation. 

Paula qualified as a solicitor in 2000 at a commercial legal firm and then moved in-house to be an ABTA solicitor, before moving up to senior solicitor. She has over 20 years’ experience in travel law, including package travel, ATOL, consumer law, booking conditions, advertising and websites. She runs ABTA's code of conduct processes and writes the extensive, practical guidance available for Members on compliance with the Code and their legal obligations. In her spare time Paula loves travelling and football and believes that someday soon she'll be able to combine the two and go to a World Cup to support Scotland.

Paula qualified as a solicitor in 2000 at a commercial legal firm and then moved in-house to be an ABTA solicitor, before moving up to senior solicitor. She has over 20 years’ experience in travel law, including package travel, ATOL, consumer law, booking conditions, advertising and websites. She runs ABTA's code of conduct processes and writes the extensive, practical guidance available for Members on compliance with the Code and their legal obligations. In her spare time Paula loves travelling and football and believes that someday soon she'll be able to combine the two and go to a World Cup to support Scotland.

James became Head of Regulatory Projects and Casework in June 2023, having previously held various Copy Advice and Regulatory Policy roles at the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). He is responsible for ensuring that the ASA system’s regulatory projects are aligned with its strategy and for ensuring that its casework is of high quality, proportionate and consistent. Before joining CAP and the ASA, James completed academic and professional legal training before working in legal and public affairs to protect the intellectual property rights of software publishers.

Krystene is a senior litigation specialist with a focus on commercial and contractual disputes, particularly within the travel and tech sectors. Since joining Travlaw in 2014, she has played a key role in the firm’s litigation team, advising on complex matters ranging from breach of contract and regulatory issues to cross-border debt recovery.

Her practice spans a wide range of contentious and advisory work, including contract reviews, dispute resolution, and the enforcement of high-value debts. Krystene has extensive experience advising tech-focused clients on B2B contractual conflicts, consumer complaints, service delivery disputes, and industry compliance — particularly where fast-moving innovation meets regulatory complexity.

A trusted adviser in both litigation and pre-action strategy, Krystene regularly represents clients in negotiations, mediations, and proceedings before the County Courts and High Court. She is also Travlaw’s lead on enforcement action, handling everything from charging orders and asset freezing to bankruptcy and winding-up petitions, both in the UK and internationally.

With over a decade of experience in debt recovery, Krystene is frequently the first point of contact for businesses seeking practical, commercially minded solutions to outstanding liabilities. Her success in securing favourable outcomes — including in matters escalated to the Royal Courts of Justice — makes her a go-to expert for high-stakes recovery work.

Beyond her casework, Krystene is a recognised thought leader in the travel and tech industries. She regularly speaks at national events and has contributed to publications such as Travel Law Quarterly and Travel Weekly. Her recent panel appearances include the Barclays Travel Forum and Travlaw’s Big Tent Event, where she has spoken on subjects including ATOL Reform, Brexit, and regulatory shifts impacting service-based industries.

Outside of legal practice, Krystene also teaches it — delivering training and CPD-accredited sessions to other legal professionals through partnerships with Law Business Research and FOR Legal, with a particular focus on commercial litigation and debt recovery best practices.

Rachel leads ABTA’s financial protection, risk, claims and insurance operations, and is Director of a captive insurance company in Guernsey. She represents ABTA on the CAA’s Air Travel Insolvency Protection Advisory Committee, and manages relationships with other key stakeholders including the Department for Business and Trade, banks, insurers and merchant acquirers. Her teams help businesses comply with the regulations and manage claims in the event of a financial failure. Rachel previously specialised in insurance risk and regulation at KPMG and EY, advising some of the world’s largest insurers, and as an Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

Sami joined Trust My Group in 2015 as Chief Operating Officer, alongside the group’s founding CEO and CTO, developing the business from its founding brand, Trust My Travel, into a diverse portfolio of businesses specialising in risk management, payments services, technology solutions and financial protection services specifically designed for the travel sector. Before joining TMG, Sami was a corporate trader for CitiBank’s FX brokerage, Paymaster International.

Sami launched one of the Group’s newest brands, TMU Management, an insurance managing agency broker, in 2022, where Sami is currently Chief Executive Officer. TMU Management specialises in facilitating insolvency related technology-led insurance products to the travel sector and financial services sectors servicing the travel industry. Sami launched TMU’s financial failure insurance products for travel merchants in 2022 and it’s ground breaking Acquiring Chargeback Insurance product last year. 
 

Geoff Wingfield is a Senior Manager within the Aviation & Travel: Finance & Licensing team at the Civil Aviation Authority. Geoff is a Chartered Accountant and been with the CAA for over 20 years in various roles.  Geoff currently leads the team that oversees a portfolio of c. 1400 ATOL holders with licensable turnover up to £20m and is a Credit Committee Member for ATOL holder assessments where turnover is above £20m. 

Ezequiel has over 15 years’ international experience advising on complex transactions, regulatory frameworks, and commercial contracts, with particular focus on technology, payments, travel, hospitality, marine, transportation and logistics sectors. Multilingual and dual-qualified (England & Wales and Argentina, a civil law jurisdiction), he advises on major cross-border projects, business transformations, and high-value negotiations for global clients.

Before joining Hill Dickinson, he advised leading organisations including Volkswagen, Mediterranean Shipping Company Group, and American Express Global Business Travel, as well as clients in private practice; on complex commercial, regulatory, and cross-border matters supporting consistent business growth and compliance across EMEA, Americas and APAC regions. He has spoken at international forums including the UNCITRAL Congress (Vienna) and London IP Week, and his work has been published by UNCITRAL and in legal texts on commercial and transportation contracts.

Ezequiel specialises in complex commercial transactions, regulatory frameworks, and multi-jurisdictional compliance, with a focus on the technology, payments, travel, hospitality, marine, transportation and logistics sectors. His work includes high-value negotiations, cross-border joint ventures, and business transformation projects. He advises clients on regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions and provides pragmatic, commercially focused legal solutions that balance innovation with risk, particularly in regulated environments such as payment services, travel technology platforms, and logistics operations.

Ezequiel is a dual-qualified Solicitor (England & Wales and Argentina, a civil law jurisdiction) and holds: (i) an Executive MBA with focus on Corporate Leadership from Warwick Business School (London, UK), (ii) an LLM in International Shipping Law from Queen Mary University of London (London, UK), and (iii) an MSc in Economic Business Law from Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany). He speaks Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Nick joined Travlaw in 2018, having previously lead a team of litigation fee earners at a claimant-orientated firm.  Since joining Travlaw, Nick has helped the travel industry navigate their way through various challenges posed by:

• The travel sickness claim epidemic;
• The failure of Thomas Cook;
• Brexit; and
• The covid-19 pandemic

With over 12 years experience in civil litigation, and with considerable expertise in the travel & leisure industry, Nick regularly advises the travel industry in relation to:

• Obligations under the Package Travel Regulations
• B2B contractual disputes (e.g. disputes between a tour operator and their suppliers)
• Travel sickness claims
• Injury claims, with an emphasis on disputes over ‘local standards’
• Copyright infringement claims
• Domain disputes – to take down ‘rogue websites’ and e-mail accounts used by fraudsters and unlicensed travel companies
• Aviation claims – including claims under Regulation 261/2004 and the Montreal Convention
• Equality & Discrimination claims – including claims under the Equality Act and Regulation 1107/2006
• Applicable Law & Jurisdiction & Cross Border issues
• Brexit

Nick’s first introduction to travel law came about as a trainee solicitor, handled a number of cross-border road traffic accident claims.  Identifying the ‘booby traps’ and ‘loopholes’ that arise when applying foreign law in the courts of England and Wales, resolving ‘conflicts of law’ and jurisdictional disputes provided Nick with an appetite for the other challenges that come with international and travel litigation.

A failure by the UK government to properly implement the EU’s ‘5th Motor Directive’, causing financial loss to victims of accidents caused by uninsured drivers, spurred Nick to initiate a campaign for legal reform. Having brought a number of ‘Francovich claims’ against the Department of Transport this project successfully forced the Department of Transport to take measures to finally implement the 5th Directive, as they should have done many months earlier!

In 2015, the floodgates opened to passengers claiming compensation for delayed or cancelled flights under Regulation 261, where Nick was at the forefront of a number of important ‘test cases’ and ‘appeal cases’ in a developing area of law.  Examples include disputes over contractual limitation, exclusive jurisdiction clauses, when ‘extraordinary circumstances’ apply and, most notably, a successful Court of Appeal decision in Thea Gahan & Others v Emirates.

Nick joined Travlaw Litigation Team in 2018 and has quickly established himself as a ‘go to expert’ in the travel industry, speaking at events with ABTA, ABTOT, UKInbound, BETA and The European Consumer Centre in Luxembourg.

Sarah undertakes high value, complex and sensitive personal injury claims of all kinds, acting both for claimants and for defendants. As well as being lauded by the directories for her courtroom advocacy and legal knowledge, she is well known to leading firms as a skilled negotiator, and is valued by clients for her sensitive handling of difficult cases.

In the last year Sarah has represented claimants in claims in respect of catastrophic injuries arising from accidents at work, leisure accidents, and road traffic accidents, as well as accidents abroad; and has defended similar claims, often involving spinal injuries of the utmost severity and/or serious brain injuries. She has conducted a number of cases raising issues of borderline and fluctuating capacity. She is also experienced in claims of the utmost sensitivity raising allegations of sexual assault.

Sarah specialises in travel law claims, including claims under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, the Athens and Montreal Conventions, and at common law; she also has a particular expertise in all aspects of conflict of law and jurisdiction. Together with other team members Matthew Chapman KC, Jack Harding, Dominique Smith, Thomas Yarrow and Henk Soede, Sarah co-wrote the most recent editions of Saggerson on Travel Law and Litigation, the leading textbook in this field. Sarah also finds the time to update the chapter of the Encyclopaedia of Insurance Law on the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.

Sarah was invited to join the Consultative Group of Experts to the UNWTO Committee for the Development of an International Code for the Protection of Tourists; the Code has now been adopted by the UNWTO and is being implemented internationally. In addition, she is an academic collaborator of the UNWTO Observatory for Latin America and the Carribean. She has also been co-opted to the Admiralty Court Users’ Committee as a representative of the personal injury Bar.
Sarah supports her Inn’s efforts to expand membership of the Bar more equitably, and has acted as a judge in the inter-Inns debating competition at both quarter- and semi-final stages. She is taking her interest in supporting students further with involvement in the Young Citizens mock trial scheme and other educational outreach, including marking the Inner Temple Students Association essay competition and qualifying as an advocacy trainer. She is also a qualified exam invigilator.