Jackie Ennis was recently promoted from her post as senior director, global trade development at Brand USA to become its new vice president of global trade development. She succeeds Cathy Domanico, who had been with the organization since March 2016 when she joined from Choose Chicago. Ennis began her association with Brand USA as a consultant for its global trade team. Previously, she was responsible for international marketing strategy for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. She was also executive director of Discover New England.
Christ Tait was recently appointed tourism manager for Klahoose Coastal Adventures, which is based in Squirrel Cove, BC, Canada. He joins the company from Pacific Coastal Cruises & Tours, where he was director of marketing and sales. Previously, he was product manager, Canada and Alaska for Discover Holidays.
In Nashville, the National Museum of African American Music has hired Tuwisha D. Rogers-Simpson as vice president of brand and partnerships, where she will lead all marketing and branding initiatives for the museum, which is slated to open in September. Rogers-Simpson most recently served as vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Urban One, where she oversaw a dedicated team that was responsible for over $70 million in media revenue and partnership management with brands such as Walmart, AT&T, and Prudential. She has also served as an executive producer on several award-winning campaigns.
Craig Davidson, general manager of trade sales at Jet2holidays, the UK’s second-largest tour operator, has left the company. Davidson had been with the operator for four years. Davidson joined Jet2holidays in 2016 as the operator expanded its operations to Birmingham and Stansted airports. Before that he was director of sales for Holiday Malta Company, which included Belleair Holidays.
Megan Istvanek has been appointed as sales manager, tour & travel, for Andretti Indoor Karting and Games, an Orlando attraction. She joins the company from iFly Indoor Skydiving, where she spent nearly nine years in sales.
Jerre Fuqua is the new president of Holiday Vacations, reporting to Andrew Todd, CEO, Holiday Vacations and President and CEO of Xanterra Travel Collection, the holding company of Holiday Vacations. Holiday Vacations is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Jerre is a respected veteran of the industry. Most recently, Jerre was the senior vice president of global travel products and services with Rovia, LLC, a Texas- based Virtuoso travel agency and tour operations business. In that role, Jerre was responsible for company growth, new product development and financial performance. Before joining Rovia, Fuqua held senior roles in sales, marketing and operations, including many years with TUI.
In Brazil, Sete Mares Turismo (Seven Seas Tourism) has hired a new director of marketing and Products, Guilherme Ishikawa, who has more than 18 years of experience in the communication industry, in companies such as Momentum Worldwide (IPG Group), Aktuellmix and Mondo Entertainment, serving clients such as Petrobras, Bradesco, Cielo, Hersheys and Mastercard. In Tourism he started in the TTW group where he stayed until September 2019, as sales and marketing director.
Nate Glissmeyer, the chief product officer & chief technology officer of HolidayCheck Group, is leaving the management board of the company before the end of his full term at his own request on July 31st. Glissmeyer joined the company at the beginning of 2017. The announcement of his departure noted that he is leaving the company on the best of terms with the Supervisory Board. Before joining HolidayCheck, Glissmeyer was director of product development for Kindle for Amazon in Seattle, Washington. He spent more than a dozen years at Amazon.
Saga Travel has announced the appointment of Jason Kemp as a regional sales manager. Kemp joins Saga Travel after a six-year spell with Balkan Holidays, where he was a regional Sales Manager. Well-known in the UK tour and travel industry, Kemp’s 20-year career includes tenures with Globespan and TUI.
Massimo Prioreschi has been named CEO of global adventure travel operator MT Sobek, which is based in the San Francisco Bay area. For Prioreschi, it is a return to the company after serving as the vice president of sales and marketing for another Bay Area travel company, Backroad, where he served for more than 17 years. Before his long tenure at Backroads, Prioreschi served in key executive roles at MT Sobek. During his four years at the company, he worked as the Director of Information Services & Direct Marketing, expanding direct marketing and implementing key information systems.
