Having left Iran in 1979, Kourosh and his family swiftly adopted England as their home. 

Kourosh started his education at the quintessential English boarding school of St Bede’s in the depths of rural Sussex and it was here where he learned to appreciate English humour, culture and even food! 

In the ensuing years, he has lived mainly in London apart from a couple of years in Sydney, after finishing back-packing around the world. 

Kourosh’s first experience of working in the travel industry was when he was 18 and worked as a resort rep in Majorca (one of Spain's Balearic Islands), looking after groups of young, unruly Brits! Despite a whole summer of this rather challenging experience, he chose the travel industry as his profession after studying Travel and Tourism and Business Management. 

Over the years, Kourosh has worked in various roles in both outbound and inbound travel (retail and wholesale), including Sales & Marketing, Product and Business Development. 

Kourosh joined Sovereign Tourism in 2008 as General Manager, later becoming the Director. He is responsible for the overall direction, management and growth of the business. 

Apart from his passion for travel and visiting far-flung corners of the world, Kourosh follows politics and current affairs, enjoys reading and loves going to the theatre.

Born in Mauritius, Rosie joined Sovereign Tourism in 1987 and is an invaluable member of the team, responsible for all aspects of finance within the company.

In addition to this role, Rosie is also responsible for all our computer systems and technology, all of which keep her quite busy!

In her spare time, Rosie enjoys decorating and painting her house and gardening and later relaxing in a Spa.

Having studied Spanish and management at Leeds University, Jill started her career by working overseas for a UK tour operator in Spain, France and Greece. Upon her return to London, she spent two years working for a Spanish tour operator before joining Sovereign Tourism in 1988.

Jill’s responsibilities include liaising with our key partners to research,  develop themes and itineraries and price them for both adult and student groups. Her vast product and destination knowledge also means that she is often the first point of contact for any Events or Performing Group tours which need to be organised.

Jill’s enthusiasm and positive nature is truly infectious and never wanes! She loves proposing fresh and exciting experiences for groups and also loves hearing about their experiences afterwards!

Jill enjoys art, current affairs and all film, especially French & Spanish films. She loves 20th century American Literature and is passionate about music, cooking, swimming and cycling.

Ilenia was brought up in a village near Rome. She has always had a passion for travel and has a Degree in Tourism Sciences and a Masters Degree in Project and Management of Tourist Systems.

Ilenia started her full-time career with Sovereign as an Operations Executive in 2013 and later became Operations Supervisor and then Operations Manager.

As the Manager, she looks after an ever-growing team of Operators and provides support for them as well as taking care of workload allocation, training, trouble-shooting and sourcing primary products. Ilenia also has a key role in liaising with our clients to ensure we meet our customer-service goals.

When not working, Ilenia likes travelling, dancing, photography, street art, watching documentaries and going to art galleries. Being Italian, she is naturally passionate about food and is always up to date with the food scene in London!

Anastasia grew up in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky), in central Russia, where she studied and got a diploma in Accounting and Bookkeeping and BSc in Applied Physics & Microelectronics from Nizhny Novgorod State University. 

Her first taste of the travel industry was during her student years when she worked as a train attendant on a railway line running from Nizhny Novgorod to the Black Sea. Years later, she chose to make travel her profession as well as her passion. 

In 2001, Anastasia help set up a new office in London for an Inbound Tour Operator from Russia. Many years later, she joined another Russian Inbound Tour Operator as Senior Manager in the Groups Department where she also helped develop products. 

In recent years, Anastasia worked for an English Tour Operator in London, looking after Educational, Special Interest and Performing Groups where she was responsible for all aspects of group travel from costing, itinerary planning and negotiating with suppliers, right through to operations. 

As well as operations and management, Anastasia’s other skills include financial analysis, accounting, legal procedures, marketing, product development and contract negotiation. 

In the past, Anastasia has sung in choirs and she also plays the piano, however, these days her favourite hobbies are mountain skiing and sea swimming.

Brought up in the South West of England, Valda has travelled extensively around the World; just check the list below! 

Valda’s career started by working in Paris for a French tour operator, and this inspired her to become a Tour Manager where she spent three years travelling across most parts of Continental Europe. During this time Valda built up an immense knowledge of different countries, cultures, attractions and itineraries. 

A key member of the Sovereign team since 1991, Valda has a passion for travel and as Performance & Special Interest Expert helps ensure that our groups have enriching and unique experiences too! 

When not working or travelling. Valda enjoys languages, running, gardening, cooking, arts & crafts and volunteering with the elderly, children & for environmental issues.

Born in London, Maire studied Economics and Geography at University and later, Law at the University of Westminster. 

Maire has been working at Sovereign Tourism since 1987, bringing extensive knowledge and experience to our Operations team. 

Her attention to detail and logistical excellence is essential whilst operating large and complex touring groups. Over the years, Maire has successfully operated hundreds of groups including Educational and Performing groups as well as large events. She is also involved in the planning and implementation of various in-house projects and handling different aspects of training for the company. 

Maire has a broad knowledge of many areas of Special Interest tours which include Faith-Based tours, Theatre and Drama and World War I groups. 

Outside of work, Maire enjoys reading, gardening, cycling and going to the theatre.  She also spends a lot of time watching her son play soccer.

Lyn was born in London where she gained a degree in Business Studies, before starting her career in inbound travel in 1992. 

She joined Sovereign Tourism in the year 2000. Her excellent knowledge of London and the rest of the UK and Ireland plus her passion for travel across Europe, bring yet more knowledge to the team. 

Lyn also has a broad knowledge of many areas of Special Interest tours which include Sports, Methodist / Baptist trails, Literature, Garden tours and World War II. 

Outside of travel, her other passion is sports (she is a big fan of Chelsea soccer club), as well as history, art, music, walking and photography. 

Lyn likes to keep up-to-date with the latest additions to the London scene; hotels, restaurants, museums and exhibitions.

Stiina is Estonian but has lived most of her life in Finland before moving to London. She joined our Business Development team in 2018 and is responsible for designing itineraries and pricing for our European programmes. 

Stiina is an all-rounder with excellent project management skills. As well as operating quality tour programmes in her previous roles, she has experience in delivering a wide variety of events including conferences and award ceremonies. 

Stiina loves hiking and very long walks; it is not unusual for her to walk about 2 hours to work some mornings!

Growing up in a small village in Germany, Mary took every chance to explore the global event, travel and luxury hospitality landscape during the time she was studying for her degree in tourism management.

Besides volunteering for an event management project at her university, she moved to London and joined the Sovereign Tourism team as an Intern in 2018. Following her experiences in London, she decided to experience luxury sports hospitality by moving to Monaco, where she gained experience in Formula 1 hospitality and Luxury Event Management. After graduating with her first degree in Germany, Mary returned to London to study for a Master's degree in Digital Marketing and later, she joined our Operations team in late 2022.

Since September 2024, Mary has taken up a new challenge and as Key Account Executive, she is responsible for many aspects of maintaining and expanding relationships with our key partners (both potential and existing) by various means including effective sales, operations and logistical planning for VIP groups, Events/ event-type and larger groups which require special attention. She is also responsible for technical aspects of developing and enhancing our systems, procedures and workflows.

In the name of research, Mary spends much of her free-time finding and exploring the newest local experiences for herself and her friends; from food and wine (and Prosecco), to music, arts, travel and sports.

Raquel was born in Portugal and has a bachelor’s degree in tourism. She worked over 20 years as both a tour guide and operations executive for several well-established Lisbon and Vienna-based Tour Operators, before extending her career in travel to England in 2013. 

Since then, she has worked at a number of well-established London-based tour operators, building on her experience and skills in operations, quotations, sales and customer service. Having initially joined our busy Operations team in January 2023, Raquel joined the Business Development team in early 2024, where she has been using her extensive knowledge and creativity to put together unique itineraries for groups.  

Although now living in Liverpool, Raquel loves London with a passion and is always keen to discover more of its secrets and contrasts as and when she can: the markets, the museum exhibitions, the West End shows, the modern and the classic architecture, the street art, but above all, the city’s incredible treasure of cultural diversity. 

Raquel regularly travels to Portugal, where she enjoys visiting her family and friends, indulging in the country’s excellent cuisine and wine and spending hours on the beach enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the waves. 

Outside of travel, Raquel’s other interests are history, literature, music, dance, cinema, architecture, photography, all forms of art (classic, contemporary and street arts), interior décor, gardening, arts and crafts, gastronomy and oenology.

Valentina is from a small town in northern Italy, surrounded by hills, lakes, mountains, and the sea. Growing up in this area of extraordinary beauty, made Valentina enthusiastic about exploring new places, so after studying environmental engineering and land planning in Padua, she moved to London, where she worked for many years in the city's gastronomic scene. 

Valentina has always been passionate about travel, and following a solo backpacking trip in South-East Asia, she decided to make her passion her profession and pursued a master's degree in responsible tourism management in Leeds. This was followed by a role as Project Coordinator for a non-profit foundation for sustainable destination development and recognition. 

Since joining us in the summer of 2023, Valentina has been involved with some of our key groups and partners and her enthusiasm and positive energy shine through in all the projects she undertakes. 

She is  a fan of "slow travel" and visiting lesser-known areas. She also likes exploring the outdoors and usually stays very active on holidays, such as kayaking in Menorca and Kerala, canyoning in the Philippines, and cycling from Amsterdam to Paris! When travelling, Valentina loves to discover the local cuisine, believing this to be one of the best ways to get to know the local traditions and culture. 

In her free time, Valentina likes to go for long walks or bicycle rides across London, visit new areas, research and attend local events and also going to the theatre.

Yasmine's family is originally from Morocco and she is very proud of her roots, but she was born and raised in Belgium. She has always had a passion for travel and graduated with a Bachelor in Tourism and Leisure Management, which included an internship in London in 2018. She loved London so much that right after her internship, she moved here!

Her first job was as a Client Relations Executive at a leading tour operator, looking after mainly French groups travelling to the UK and rest of Europe. Later, Yasmine worked at the Dorchester Collection, helping to promote and sell the many prestigious hotels in their portfolio.

Yasmine believes that each group or programme is an opportunity for making lifelong memories, and like the rest of us at Sovereign Tourism, believes in going the extra mile to help bring each tour and programme to life. She is professional, knowledgeable, friendly and calm when under pressure, which is why she has fit in so well in our team since the summer of 2023!

During her free time, Yasmine likes to cook, bake (very well), do some yoga, try new restaurants and cafés (she has a sweet tooth) and of course travel.

Ruben joined our operations team in mid-2024 and he has quickly become an integral and valued member of the team.

Though born and brought up in London, Ruben is very proud of his Colombian background and heritage. 

Ruben's interest in travel, tourism and aviation started early when he got a National Diploma in Aviation Operations. This was followed by 8 years in various roles including Sales Representative and Operations Supervisor at a leading UK-focused tour operator and another 1.5 years in Operations, crafting bespoke itineraries for FIT and Groups for an inbound tour operator, before joining Sovereign Tourism. 

Ruben's hobbies include attending travel trade events, going on holidays and exploring different cultures.

Ruben is very customer-service focused and with enthusiasm and a genuine passion for his work, he goes the extra-mile to ensure that we continue to provide an excellent service to all our partners.