Larita Clark, who had been acting CEO and CFO of Chicago’s Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority—a commonly referred to as McPier—has officially been named CEO of the agency, which oversees Chicago’s Navy Pier and is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and is Chicago’s most visited tourist attraction. The authority also operates McCormick Place, one of the nation’s largest convention center complexes. Clark succeeds Lori Healy, who announced her resignation from the post last September. Clark has been with McPier for almost 10 years.
John Reyes has been appointed as the new senior Vice President and Chief MCI Sales Officer for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. His responsibilities include oversight of all sales functions in the MCI area including citywide and single property bookings and events. He joins from Visit Sacramento, where he was chief operating officer. Previously, he had served as executive vice president and chief sales officer for the San Francisco Travel Association
Mary Kay Vrba, president and CEO of Dutchess Tourism for more than 25 years, has decided to retire effective July 20, 2020. Commenting on the announcement, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “Throughout her tenure at Dutchess Tourism, Mary Kay Vrba has been a master of telling the story of Dutchess County.”
Leslie Johnson was recently named director of sales at VISIT Milwaukee. She joins the agency from the Paloma Resort Properties in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where she was vice president of sales and marketing. A veteran of more than 20 years in the travel and tourism industry, Johnson has served in senior management positions at several popular hotel properties, as well as Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.
Charlotte WWiebe has been appointed as TUI´s new group sustainability director, taking over the role from Jane Ashton, who leaves the company to take on a new challenge outside TUI. Charlotte previously held the function of HR Director and Member of the Management Board at TUI Nordic, where she had been driving change at one of TUI’s centers of excellence for innovation since 2010.
Former Thomas Cook executive Georg Welbers takes over the marketing and sales department at Alltours on April 1st. At Thomas Cook, Welbers was, among other things, managing director of Öger Tours, managing director for marketing, sales and e-commerce and most recently director Omnichannel. In summer 2019, he switched to the management team of Schülerhilfe, an education services company in Gelsenkirchen.
American Airlines has promoted Christian Weiß to regional sales manager Central & Eastern Europe. He will report to Cristián Lizana, who was recently promoted to regional director Europe sales. Weiß has been with American for nearly 17 years. He began his career with the company in July 2003 as part of the sales support team in Germany.
Gov. Steve Sisolak has named Brenda Scolari to head the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. In announcing the appointment, Sisolak described Scolari as a 30-year marketing professional in both the private and public sectors who has, “an intimate understanding of what makes Nevada’s culture and Native American communities special as well as what drives consumer behavior and travel interest.” She has been acting director since December 2018.
At Attraction World, the theme park and attraction ticket specialist, Ryan Clayton has been named business development executive and Zoe Whitehead has appointed as trade marketing manager. Clayton previously worked for Thomas Cook for 14 years in various roles including sales consultant and business development manager. Whitehead joins from Polka Dot Travel where she was social media manager.
Charles Harris has been promoted to the post of chief marketing officer & executive vice president of public affairs at Visit Anaheim. Harris, who has been with Visit Anaheim since early 2014, was previously senior vice president of marketing. Previously, Harris, who had also operated his own photography business, was vice president of marketing for Luxe Hotels.
Adam Armstrong has been named as the new global chief executive of Contiki. He joins from his position as senior vice president & managing director of Silversea Cruises–Australia & New Zealand. A veteran of more than 20 years in the travel and tourism industry, holding various leadership positions within the cruising category across Europe, Asia, USA, Australia and New Zealand. He will be based in Geneva with a starting date yet to be announced.
Daniela Bergamini has been appointed as the new marketing and sales manager for Sea World in Brazil. Bergamini worked for the last eight years at Imaginadora, which represents theme parks in Brazil, involved in the promotion of several clients.
Juliana Pisani has been named marketing director at Universal Parks & Resorts. She will be responsible for marketing for Latin America and will work with the team of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the region, Marcos Barros. Previously, Pisani served for more than five years as chief marketing & innovation officer KFC Brazil.
Joachim Schreiber is the new senior sales and marketing manager at the Düsseldorf-based tour operator Anex Tour. A long-time veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Schreiber was most recently director of supplier relations at Invia Travel Germany. He succeeds Casten Burgmann, who had been with Anex since January 2017, and is leaving the organizer at his own request. He would like to face a “new professional challenge.” He is joining the management committee of a European investment company.
Erin Johnson has been named as marketing director
at Travelopia, the widely known collection of specialty tour operator
brands. She will oversee its tailor-made division. Currently Silversea UK &
Ireland’s marketing director, Johnson will be leaving the luxury cruise line
after three years and will start with Travelopia on March 2. Johnson’s role
will cover the Hayes & Jarvis, Sovereign, Citalia and Austravel brands with
Johnson reporting to commercial and brand director Helen Adamson.
Erika Moore has been named vice president of travel solutions for the United States and Canada for Sabre. She will be responsible for regional sales and account management teams. Previously, Moore served nine years with Travelport, where she had risen to the post of vice president and general manager of U.S. Sales for Travelport.
