Jessica Banchs has become part of the partnership marketing team for Hotelbeds, following a short tenure with the company’s Tourico Holidays brand. Previously, Banchs—she’ll be working out of the Orlando area—she was destination sales manager for the Arlington (Va.) CVB and sales director for Globo International Tours.
American Airlines has appointed Janelle Anderson as vice president–global marketing. She will report to Kurt Stache, American’s senior vice president – marketing, loyalty and sales. Anderson joins American from PepsiCo with more than 15 years of leadership and brand experience. In her most recent role as vice president–shopper marketing, Anderson led the cross-divisional marketing team for PepsiCo’s three divisions—Frito-Lay, Pepsi Beverages and Quaker.
Collette’s managing director Carl Burrows and its head of marketing Michelle Laverick have been put under consultation (the stage, in the UK, prior to being officially laid off) and the company is realigning its business. The office will be led by head of UK sales Neil Sehmbhy (left), who joined Collette six months ago, having previously worked for Office Serve and Care UK, and Stephen Mills, who joined Collette two months ago to head up UK partnerships and business development. Dan Sullivan, the company’s chief executive and president, told Travel Weekly UK: “We’re having a reorganization. We’ve seen overall growth of 12 percent globally this year on top of 12 percent in 2017, but the UK has been relatively flat. It hasn’t been great.” Sullivan also said that most of the rest of the 20-person team in the UK would remain in their roles, except for a few changes in the marketing department.
The tour operator Hoteldo Brasil has announced that Antonio Marcos Roudão, who previously worked for Grupo Trend, is now part of its sales team. Roudão has also had tenures with such tour and travel industry companies such as MGM and CVC Viagens.
Also joining Hoteldo Brasil from Grupo Trend is Pedro Gabriel Souza, a new account executive of Hoteldo for the Center-West region of Brazil. Prior to his service for Grupo Trend, Souza had worked at Schultz and Interep.
Andy Duncan has been appointed as the new chief executive of Travelopia. He succeeds Will Waggott. New to the tour and travel industry, Duncan has previously served as chief executive of Camelot UK, the National Lottery operator and chief executive of H.R. Owen, the UK’s largest luxury car business. He also spent three years at the BBC, as director of marketing, communications and audiences. Formerly a part of TUI, Travelopia has 53 brands in its portfolio, including Hayes & Jarvis, Jetsave, Citalia and Sunsail.
Lisa Burns was recently named as the new executive director of New York’s Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council, an organization comprising 14 official county tourism promotion agencies. A veteran of more than 25 years in the tour and travel industry, Burns previously handled marketing and public relations for New York State Parks Genesee Region and Letchworth State Park. Prior to that, she was vice president and tourism director for the Livingston County Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Agency.
Brand USA has selected Contineo Marketing Group in China and, effective May 1, will name James Huang as its regional director to manage its strategic travel trade and marketing efforts in China.
Huang will be responsible for working with Brand USA to create an integrated strategic plan and ensure it is successfully executed. He also will coordinate the work of Brand USA’s four China offices of AVIAREPS, the tourism destination marketing agency representing Brand USA in China for the past several years. Huang’s career highlights include work with the Scandinavian Tourism Board and Tourism Victoria.
In the UK, Chris Harrington is joining A2B Transfers owner Hoppa Group as sales director. He will succeed current business to business sales director Phil Norris, who retires this month after nine years with the transfer provider. New to the tour and travel industry, Harrington has more than 20 sales and leadership at HSBC, technology business Maru/edr and manufacturer UKCG Group.
Darryl Leggieri has been named the new president of Discover Saratoga. He succeeds current president Todd Garofano, who announced last month that he is leaving to pursue other interests outside of the industry, according to the organization. Most recently, Leggieri served as the director of sales and marketing for The Saratoga Hilton.
Dan Whitehouse has been appointed become marketing director for Saga Holidays and Cruises. He joins the over-50s specialist in April from Titan Travel following what Saga calls a “significant review” of the senior marketing team. Whitehouse previously worked in the Saga marketing department and moved to the Saga-owned escorted tours specialist in 2011 after a period as marketing director for the AA.
Gina Mann recently joined Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix as vice president of business development. A long-time veteran of the tour and travel industry, she was previously vice president of groups and events for SPEEDVEGAS. Her resume also includes tenures of more than a decade as a senior sales executive at the Las Vegas CVA and more than 20 years in both sales and operations for hotels in Las Vegas.
