Former Play.com CIO Francesco de Marchis joins JacTravel as CTO

De Marchis has also been CTO at Vivastreet and defunct Lowcosttravelgroup

Former Play.com chief information officer (CIO) Francesco de Marchis has joined global business-to-business travel provider JacTravel as its chief technology officer (CTO).

De Marchis was interviewed by Computing back in September 2012 when he was at Play.com. At the time, he explained how he was tasked with delivering Play.com's website structure in line with its new owner Rakuten's in-house models. The aim was to enable those selling through Play.com to be able to build customised market mini-sites.

In that interview, he also revealed that the online retailer intended to compete directly with Apple and PayPal in what was then an emerging digital wallet sector, with Sony-powered chip technology.

Based in Jersey, Play.com prospered by taking advantage of a loophole in UK laws relating to VAT, enabling buyers to avoid paying VAT on goods priced at less than £15. When this loophole was closed, the company didn't have a response and quickly started to struggle.

In January 2013, the online retailer closed its direct retail business, but decided to focus on its marketplace. In April 2014, De Marchis left the organisation, and went on to join classified ads firm Vivastreet as CTO, before becoming group CTO at Lowcosttravelgroup, which ceased trading in July 2016.

Several months ago he was approached by JacTravel to become group CTO at the global business-to-business travel company. He had also been CTO at the company between May 2008 and February 2011.

In a statement he said he was "really pleased to be returning to JacTravel in this exciting new role".

"I have known [CEO] Terry [Williamson] and the senior team here for many years. The company has an exceptional leadership team, a very service-oriented culture and strong financial backing, and I have every confidence it will achieve great things," he said.

Williamson said that the company felt it was time to have a dedicated leader within the board to help deliver its ‘next generation platform' and implement the strategy needed to create what he called "marketing leading technology environments".

"As we expand globally it is important we become flexible and adaptable in our approach, and bring to market enhanced capabilities tailored to individual partner requirements," he said.

Computing's IT Leaders Forum 2017 is coming on 24 May 2017.

The theme this year is "Going Digital: Why your most difficult customer is your best friend".

Attendence is free, but strictly limited to IT Leaders. To find out more and to apply for your place, check out the IT Leaders Forum website.