Thomas Cook has said it will finally appoint a new chief executive by the end of March as it faced a backlash over its £1.17m payout to departed boss Manny Fontenla-Novoa.
Almost 9pc of shareholders voted against the company's remuneration report at its AGM in London on Wednesday, in protest at the bumper package.
Fontenla-Novoa resigned last August under pressure from the board, after Thomas Cook issued a string of profit warnings.
Peter Middleton, who at the time was chairman of Thomas Cook's remuneration committee, defended the company's position after an attack by private shareholders.
"We had a legally-binding contract with Mr Fontenla-Novoa," he said.
First (OTC BB: FSTC.OB - news) -round interviews have already been held to find a successor to interim chief executive Sam Weihagen. Mr Weihagen postponed his retirement and agreed to take on the role on a temporary basis.
Analysts have suggested the short list could include an internal candidate. Michael Friisdahl, the 49-year-old head of Thomas Cook's North American division, has been mooted as a possible contender.
Thomas Cook said in a first-quarter trading statement today that pre-tax losses widened from £99.3m to £151.7m as a result of poor trading conditions in the final three months of last year, but refuted claims that it had lost ground to rival TUI Travel (Other OTC: TTVLF.PK - news) .
Mr Weihagen said Thomas Cook was ahead of TUI on summer bookings despite its competitor boasting it had been a "beneficiary" of the company's recent woes.
He said: "The killer statistic to me is they said their summer programme in the UK is 35pc sold: we are 42pc sold."
Thomas Cook has put a 77.1pc stake in its Indian business up for sale as it looks to slash its £891m debt mountain by up to £500m. The holding has been valued by the City at £90m-£150m.
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