Tom Valentine

Tom Valentine, 35, has been chief operating officer of Secret Escapes since April 2015.

Prior to this, he had been managing director since he co-founded the company in 2010 with Alex Saint and Troy Collins of Dealchecker.co.uk. Secret Escapes is the UK’s largest private sales site for luxury travel, with over 25 million members globally. Last year, Secret Escapes closed its series C round of funding, led by Google Ventures and existing investor, Octopus Investments. Outside of the UK, Secret Escapes operates in Sweden, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA.

Prior to Secret Escapes, Tom worked in product management and marketing at E-Trader Group and and online ticket exchange service Seatwave. He started his professional career with four years in marketing, strategy and business development at eBay UK. Tom is widely regarded as a formidable product marketeer and all-rounder and cites his objectives as injecting fun into booking hotels and “sending people on great holidays”. His ideal day at work is an even split between strategic discussion and execution.

Tom has a BA in experimental psychology from the University of Oxford. His favourite hotels are the Olde Bell in Berkshire and the Mill House Inn in East Hampton, New York.