StudentUniverse, Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) online travel booking platform for students, has announced Steven de Blois as its new Managing Director. de Blois replaces Mike Cleary who spent almost a decade with StudentUniverse, the last 4 years at the helm.

As Managing Director, de Blois will be responsible for leading all aspects of the business across the 4 countries in which StudentUniverse operates (USA, Canada, Australia and the UK), including Product, Engineering, Design (UX), Data/Analytics, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Travel Services/Account Management, Call Centre and Customer Success teams.

de Blois brings with him a wealth of experience spanning 20 years in digital and ecommerce. More than half of that time has been spent in the travel industry including almost 7 years at Expedia as Global Director of Product Management, 4 years at Air Canada in Corporate Strategy and ecommerce, and most recently 2 years as Managing Director and Head of Product at Umapped, a Flight Centre Travel Group company that powers a B2B collaborative itinerary platform for travel companies.

“I am excited to be joining the talented team at StudentUniverse, the world’s largest student and youth online travel marketplace, empowering students and youth to travel.” said de Blois. “Now more than ever, students are looking to experience new places and cultures. The StudentUniverse team is perfectly positioned to lead the travel market in re-opening the world to students and youth.”

“Since joining the FCTG family at Umapped, Steve has demonstrated excellent leadership with a very clear vision of success.” said Marc Casto, President Leisure Americas, FCTG. “Mike Cleary left big shoes to fill, and I have no doubt Steve is the ideal candidate to lead StudentUniverse into its next exciting phase, and to continue to unlock the potential of the world’s leading online travel booking agency for students and youth.”

Currently based in Toronto, de Blois will be splitting his time between there and the company headquarters in Boston. He is dual citizen and has deep roots in Boston having attended high school nearby as well as having a large extended family in the area.