Wendy Olson Killion has been named global senior vice president & general manager, Expedia Group Media Solutions at Expedia Media Group. Killion, who has been with the company for nearly 11 years, was promoted from her position as global vice president, business development, Expedia Group Media Solutions. She joined the company in March 2010 as global media projects manager, site planning. She also served for more than five years with J.D. Power and Associates.
Joel Cohen has been named general manager at Beyond Times Square, a New York-based destination management company that serves individual and group travelers, delivering tailor-made, luxury travel programs with authentic local experience. Cohen comes to the new position following a lengthy tour of more than 20 years with New York City Vacation Packages, where he was vice president.
Steve Moore, the president and CEO of Visit Phoenix, announced, has announced his retirement effective March 31, 2021. Moore has led Visit Phoenix for 19 years. Previously, he spent 14 years as CEO of Visit San Antonio and 13 years with Visit Houston.
Candace Carr Strauss has been named as the new president and CEO of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau. She’ll take on the new job in February 2021. She comes to Sedona from her post as CEO of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce & Visit Big Sky in Montana. She replaces Jennifer Wesselhoff who left for a similar role in Park City, Utah.
Ian Simkins is joining the villa specialist The Thinking Traveller as executive chairman. Previously, Simkins served for more than seven years as CEO of Audley Travel.
Jason Outman has been selected as the new president and CEO of the Branson-Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. He starts his new job on January 18, 2021. Outman comes to Branson after serving for 10 years with Experience Columbia South Carolina—the last six as president and CEO. Before his tenure in Columbia, he had worked for the Cobb County (Georgia) CVB. Prior to that, he was with the Georgia World Congress Center. Outman replaces Jeff Seifried, who stepped down to join a Branson insurance agency.
Lee Marshall, long-time tourism industry figure in the UK, has been recruited by the luxury tour operator Carrier. He’ll join the company in January on a consultancy basis with a focus on new business development as the operator looks to further bolster its commitment to trade partnerships. He will continue to work with other luxury brands under his Lee Marshall Consulting business Marshall has worked in travel for 34 years, having spent 15 years of his career at luxury tour operator ITC. Prior to his current role, Marshall was client relationship director at ITC (Inspiring Travel Group). He also spent three years as head of sales at Gold Medal and nearly 20 years at Thomas Cook working in retail and then as national sales manager for Thomas Cook Signature.
Trafalgar, Costsaver and Brendan Vacations—they are three of The Travel Corporation’s 40 tour operator brand—have expanded the sales coverage of Ken Nickerson (left), Jodine Clement (center) and Lora Hamre (right), to include all three brands. In doing so, their titles have been changed from sales managers to business development managers (BDMs). “As we all work together to restart the travel industry, this transition was designed to better serve the travel community as a whole and ensure travel agents receive nationwide support now that we are managing our three outstanding travel brands,” says Anita Emilio, vice president of sales for Trafalgar, Costsaver and Brendan Vacations Canada.
Jamie Paiko has been promoted by Cunard—from the position as senior director of marketing toto vice president of sales. In her new role, she will oversee the national account managers and provide support to regional sales directors and field sales team. She also will be responsible for Cunard’s North American public relations efforts. Paiko is a 25-year veteran to the cruise industry, having held various roles at both Cunard and Princess Cruises. Also from Cunard, Nicole Knox, who was manager of advertising and marketing, has been promoted to director of marketing and will oversee all marketing efforts for North America including digital advertising, trade and consumer advertising, web, customer relationship management, direct mail and collateral. Knox joined the Cunard marketing team in 2005. The vice president, sales role was formerly held by Steve Smotrys, who moved to Seabourn as VP global sales.
Joelle Goldman has been appointed to the new role of vice president, host services, for Direct Travel. She joins the company from Virtuoso where she was director of member relations, U.S. & Canada. In Canada, Goldman will be closely involved with the Vision Travel brand, which has an extensive history in the independent travel advisor sector and is growing its portfolio of hosted travel agencies. Direct Travel ranks as No. 9 on the 2020 Travel Weekly Power List of the largest travel agencies in the U.S. It recorded $5.8 billion in sales last year.
EasyJet has appointed Sophie Dekkers as its new chief commercial officer. The move follows the resignation of Robert Carey. Dekkers has been with easyJet since 2007 in a variety of roles, most recently as customer director. EasyJet Airlines and Easy Jet Holidays are the 7th and 8th largest tour operators/organizers in the UK, based on the number of ATOL air passengers it is authorized to cover in the current business year.
Petita Borrajo has joined one of the world’s largest bedbanks, WebBeds, as regional director of sales for Central Europe. Before WebBeds, Borrajo held senior sales positions at such tourism industry companies as Smyrooms, Open Travel Service, TUI Travel and Hotelbeds. The role of regional director of sales for Central Europe is part of a revised European sales structure and includes responsibility for key markets such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
