In Brazil, the TGK Travel Group has announced the appointment of Renata Costard to the company’s commercial department. Costard, who has more than a decade of experience in the industry, previously served with MMTGapnet, serving the regions of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Peter Hunt (left), currently the chief financial officer of Virgin America, will assume the presidency of the airline after the acquisition of the company by Alaska Airlines is approved by U.S. regulatory agencies. The current chief operating officer of Alaska Airlines,Ben Minicucci (right), will assume the position of CEO of Virgin America.
Kerri Post is leaving her position as deputy secretary of state for Florida to take over as director of tourism development for Leon County, Fla., which includes Tallahassee, the state capital. Post had served as deputy secretary of state since January of 2013; prior to that she was director of marketing for Florida’s Department of State. Here previous experience includes tenures at Visit Tallahassee and a decade at Visit Florida.
Kazuhiro Takayama was recently named general manager, U.S. inbound, for HIS International Tours, New York. Previously, he was Honolulu inbound branch manager for the company, which he joined in 2006.
Richard G. Edwards has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing Un-Cruise Adventures, a small ship cruise line based in Seattle. Edwards takes over the role from Tim Jacox, who assumed a new role as president and COO. A 15-year travel industry professional, Edwards has worked as vice president at Wildland Adventures, founding executive director of the Trusted Adventures consortium, and as the director of marketing at G (GAP) Adventures.
Trend Operadora, one of Brazil’s largest tour operators, has announced a number of personnel moves. It has named five new regional sales professionals charged with growing the company’s client base. They include: Helena Francesca do Carmo (Midwest), who once worked for CVC for five years; Francyelle Dubas (South); Taiane Martins (Rio de Janeiro); Noele Ferreira Silva (Northeast); and St. Anne Arley (São Paulo). Also announced as new regional product managers were: Thereza Belloni (Southeast, except São Paulo); Lucilene Luna (São Paulo); Danielle Rose (Central West); and Patricia Jacobsen (South). The latter were already part of the Trend group. And, of course, Jay Santos, formerly with Visit Orlando, has joined Trend Operadora.
