Leonel Andrade has been named to replace Luiz Fernando Fogaça as CEO of Brazil’s largest travel company, CVC. Andrade is former chief executive of the airline Gol’s frequent flyer program company, Smiles. Fogaça had worked with the company for a little over a year. The change came six days after CVC disclosed it found signs of accounting errors that could result in substantial adjustments in earn.
Susan Takano has been promoted to the post of group business development manager at Sonoma County Tourism. Takano joined the agency in January 2017 as international tourism coordinator. She was later promoted to the role of tourism development manager/international sales manager.
At Tourlane, a tech-travel company based in Berlin that is “ideal for expert-made dream vacations,” there were a series of appointments recently, including that of Leah Farmer as vice president of product. She will take care of scaling product solutions. She previously spent 16 years in e-commerce with companies of all sizes. Since its founding in 2016, Tourlane has been growing steadily and today, it has more than 300 employees.
Tony Cameron has been appointed as the new CEO of the Maine Tourism Association. A native of Maine, he moves into the role after five years as the organization’s director of marketing & communications. He succeeds Chris Fogg who resigned at the end of December. Cameron previously served as executive director of Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce and Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce, as well as director of marketing and membership sales for Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
Meanwhile, also in Maine, Dirk Gouwens has been named executive director of the Ski Maine Association. He succeeds Greg Sweetser, who announced his retirement from the position last October after serving 24 years in the job. Gouwens has served as eastern regional director of the US Ski Team and executive director of the New York Ski Racing Association for the past eight years
Darien Schaefer has been appointed president and CEO of Visit Pensacola. He joins the organization from Visit Big Bear in Big Bear Lake, California where he was president and CEO. Schaefer has more than 20 years of destination marketing experience, including a tenure as CEO of Visit Lake Geneva and executive director at the Wausau/Central Wisconsin CVB/Sports Authority. Schaefer succeeds Steve Hayes, who recently became president and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater in Pinellas County. Pamela B. Johnson, deputy director of the Lee County CVB Bureau – The Beaches of Fort Meyers and Sanibel, had been recommended for the Visit Pensacola position by a search committee, but she withdrew her name from consideration, due to personal and family reasons.
David Filipiak has been named director of sales at Fotografiska New York—the new photography museum at 22nd Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan. He is joining the attraction from his position as general manager at the National Geographic Encounter/Ocean Odyssey, where he has served for more than three years. Previously, Filipiak was director of groups and tourism at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
WestJet has announced the appointment of John Weatherill to the role of vice president, network planning and alliances. Reporting to Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet chief commercial officer, Weatherill will be responsible for the strategic growth of WestJet’s network and partnerships, including WestJet’s first joint venture with Delta Air Lines. Weatherill has been overseeing the network planning and alliance team since early January, while serving in his former role of vice president revenue and pricing management. He has been with WestJet for nearly seven years.
The Travel Corporation has announced the appointment of Adam Armstrong as the new Global CEO of Contiki. A company statement said that Armstrong will be based out of Geneva, Switzerland and will pave Contiki’s path forward, including guiding the brand towards continued innovation as the needs of the 18-35-year-old client continue to evolve. A veteran of more than two decades in the tour and travel industry, Armstrong has held various leadership positions within the cruising category across Europe, Asia, USA, Australia and New Zealand. He will be joining Contiki from his current position as senior vice president & managing director of Silversea Cruises – Australia & New Zealand.
The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has announced a partnership with South Carolina native and country and pop music star Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish fame. Under terms of the partnership agreement, Rucker, who went to Middleton High School in Charleston and still lives in South Carolina, will appear at several major tourism draws this year, such as the RBC Heritage golf tournament on Hilton Head Island in April, and he will appear in marketing materials for the state.
Mona Juett has been appointed to serve as the deputy commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Tourism. Most recently, Juett served as the assistant director for resorts with the state’s Department of Parks. She has worked for the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet since 2007 in multiple roles, including Research Director, Legislative Director and former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Tourism. Prior to her career in state government, Mona was the Marketing Manager for The Council of State Governments in Lexington.
As a part of an expansion of its operations in Australia, Tauck has hired a new country manager for Australia and two new national account managers, as well as expanded call center staffing that will provide 24-hour, around-the-clock service five days a week. Tauck’s newly hired country manager is David Clark. A 16-year veteran of Australia’s travel and tourism industry, Clark has held management positions at The Walt Disney Company, Carnival and Helloworld. Most recently, he served as chief revenue officer at Journey Beyond.
Crystal Kennedy is now senior national accounts director at Philadelphia CVB. With 17 years of hotel sales experience, she was most recently associate director of sales at Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. She’ll be based in Dallas to focus on customers in the Western U.S.
The Detroit Metro CVB has restructured its leadership organizational structure, promoting several directors to newly created vice president positions, including that of Renee Monforton, who is now vice president of marketing and communications. Previously, she was director of marketing and communications, a position which she held for more than 24 years.
Debbie Megna recently joined Travel Costa Mesa as destination sales executive, where she’ll be focused on bringing in new group business to Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. Previously, Megna was a meeting sales manager at Visit Anaheim.
Delphine Decle has returned to Paris-based at Jancarthier, a collection of more than 20 agencies across France. She left the group in late 2018 to participate in the creation of Passport Oceans, an online agency specializing in the islands. She has been back at Jancarthier since March 2 as coordinator of the leisure network. The new organization is now structured around Delphine Decle for the Leisure division and Véronique Vauvert for the Business division.
Lucy Rowe, an account executive with Kent Marketing—it is a marketing, communications and representation firm that operates in the South Pacific market—has been re-elected to a second two-term as president of Australia’s Visit USA organization.
Julie Pingston, a 27-year veteran of the Lansing CVB, has been named the organization’s president and CEO, prior to her appointment, she was most recently vice president and chief operating officer. Before joining the bureau in 1992, Pingston served for several years as an international tourism program specialist for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration.
