HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry

Jerad Bachar has been appointed executive vice president of Visit Pittsburgh, replacing Jason Fulvi, who left several months ago to become president of VisitKC (Kansas City, Mo.). Bachar is returning to familiar territory. He was once national sales director for Visit Pittsburgh, from 2004 to 2008. He was most recently executive director of the Economic Development board for the nation of Bahrain.

Shauna Goodman has been named associate director of destination experience for Visit San Antonio. Most recently, Goodman worked for the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation with SA Works. Previously, she was an account supervisor with GDC Marketing & Ideation, a San Antonio-based marketing and communications firm.

Gary Stogner is retiring as senior marketing director at Visit Tallahassee at the end of the year after working for more than 35 years in the tourism industry. Stogner also worked at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater CVB, the former Florida Division of Tourism and served as the first state tourism director at West Virginia. He has headed up marketing, advertising, sales and promotions in Tallahassee for seven years.

Chris Mottershead (left) is once again taking over leadership of Thomas Cook’s UK business. He replaces Ingo Burmester, who took the job earlier this year, and is moving to DER Touristik to become its CEO for Central Europe. Mottershead joined Thomas Cook from TUI in 2015 and moved to a group-wide role of chief of product and operations in April. He will continue that role as well. A Thomas Cook spokesperson said Burmester has decided to leave to return to his home to Central Europe to be closer to his family. He starts with DER Touristik in Germany in May. He will succeed René Herzog following a one-month handover period. Herzog is leaving the company at his own request. Burmester came to Thomas Cook in early 2017, and moved to the UK to assume the role as chief of source market last April, moving from his position as chief of Thomas Cook’s hotels and resorts business.

Andy LeBouef has been named senior sales manager at ACCENT New Orleans, Inc., a DMC Network Company in New Orleans. LeBouef joins the company from Mardi Gras World, where he was director of sales. Previously, he served in senior sales positions at River City Venues and the NOLA Hotel Group.

Brazil’s largest tour operator/travel agency, CVC Corp., has announced that, starting in January 2019, Valter Patriani, who is leaving the company after 40 years, will start a new stage with the company, as a contracted consultant for the expansion of the company’s brands that operate in Argentina, where the company recently made acquisitions. Last year, Patriani was in charge of CVC Corp.’s Board of Aviation and Maritime Products. He completed the transition plan for his successor Fabio Mader last October.

Heike Pfeiffer has joined the team at Go Global Travel as a sales manager. A long-time veteran of the tour and travel industry, Pfeiffer joins the company from the German National Tourism Office, where she was sales manager for the U.S. Midwest. Pfeiffer spent 18 years with the office.

Anina Grasso has been promoted to the position product developer & contracting manager, Canada, at Destination America, located in Anaheim. She was previously product manager. Before joining Destination America, Grasso was product manager at YMT vacations.

Angus Bond has been appointed head of e-commerce and hotel sourcing at Virgin Holidays. Bond, who has been with Virgin for more than 7 years, has also served as head of product and commercial, and head of product and purchasing.