Angela Montefinise has been named vice president, communications & marketing at The New York Public Library, one of the most popular visitor attractions (and occasional movie set) in NYC. Previously, she was senior director of communications and marketing. She started working for the facility/attraction in January 2010. Before joining the library, Montefinise was a journalist and/or editor who worked for the New York Post and Queens Tribune.
Graham Horner has joined the self-guided walking and cycling specialist Macs Adventures as chief growth officer, where he’ll have oversight for sales, marketing and customer experience. Also on the company’s agenda is international expansion, which will include the U.S. Horner joins from Vieveo where he spent more than three years. Previously, he was managing director at Simpson Travel, and prior to that, he was chief marketing officer for Scott Dunn. Of the announcement, Neil Lapping, Macs founder and chief executive said that, for the company, “international expansion will be a key component of our growth, particularly in the U.S. where the self-guided category is still in its infancy.”
Martin Pott is the new head of sales at Aldiana in Germany. Among other things, he previously worked for ten years as a regional and key account manager for Club Med and has been in the service of the joint venture between DER Touristik (parent company of New World Travel, a New York/Los Angeles/Miami receptive tour operator) and the Swiss investment company LMEY since March 7th. Pott succeeds Stefanie Selbach, who only came to Aldiana in August 2021 and left the company for family reasons.
Robert Aaron is shutting down his work as an independent contractor and taken on a new role as sales manager at Inside Out Tours in New York City. He is well known in the NYC tourism community for his work at the Empire Hotel Group for more than 20 years.
Nadine Heubel, managing director of Heinemann Americas—it is a major presence in duty free programs—will leave the company later this year. She will step away from her role beginning July 1. In the meantime, she is expected to work alongside her successor from April 1 to ensure a smooth transition. Current Gebr Heinemann senior international key account manager Nicolas Hoeborn will succeed Heubel. Hoeborn joined Heinemann in 2008, before moving to Bacardi in 2011. He took on the role of senior international key account manager back with Heinemann in 2016 and joined the management team of Heinemann Americas in 2018.
Roxanna Torrens has concluded “a fabulous 25-year era for me with Planet Hollywood/Earl Enterprises!” as she told friends and colleagues on a social media post. Torrens, a habitué of the tourism industry trade show circuit who seems to know everyone on a first-name basis, has moved on to another position in the industry—guaranteeing that she will still be around for some time to come. She has taken on the role of regional trade sales director for North America at Merlin Entertainments.
Lauren Salisbury been promoted to the position of senior director of global communications, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. Salisbury, who joined the organization last spring, had been director of global communications. Previously, she held senior public relations/communications positions at several organizations, including stints at Santa Monica Travel & Tourism and MMGY Global.
Sarah Weetman, who joined Travelsphere and Just You parent G Touring in January 2018 as head of trade sales, will now take on a wider role as sales director role for the group, the company has announced. “I am delighted to announce Sarah’s promotion to sales director, a role that truly reflects her significant contribution to our continued success,” said Alastair Campbell, G Touring managing director, adding, “Sarah has been outstanding in driving our growth strategy with the travel trade since joining G Touring in 2018. Sarah did a fantastic job of supporting our partners throughout the pandemic and as part of our leadership team.” Weetman has also worked for Royal Caribbean International and All Leisure Holidays.
Sören Hartmann is leaving DER Touristik at the end of 2022. A member of the board of REWE (which owns DER Touristik) and CEO of DER Touristik Group, Hartmann will leave the Cologne-based group at the end of the year. Responsibility for the tourism division will be reorganized in the board of directors. Hartmann moved from the TUI Group to REWE Touristik in 2010 and initially took over the management of package tourism. With his appointment as CEO of DER Touristik on May 1, 2014, he was given overall responsibility for DER Touristik. By taking over the tour operator business and sales of the Kuoni Group, DER Touristik has further expanded its leading role in European tourism. In 2016, Hartmann was initially appointed general manager of the REWE Group and in 2017 a member of the REWE Group board. The 59-year-old will continue to be available to the company in an advisory capacity.
Laura Kreutzer is joining SeaWorld Parks and Resorts and will be managing the sales & marketing efforts for SeaWorld Youth Programs. This means that she will be headed back to Orlando at the end of April. Prior to her new job, Kreutzer was corporate director, group sales at Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. Previously, Kreutzer had been business development manager—student discoveries, part of the Globus family of brands.
Fox World Travel has announced the promotion of Brianne Bloom as vice president of vacation travel. In her role, Bloom will be responsible for the overall operational performance and strategic direction of the retail vacation travel team. Her initial focus will be continuing a strong recovery and strategically enhancing workflows to improve customer and associate experience. Bloom joined Fox in 2020 and during her employment has played an integral role in navigating the vacation travel team through COVID, launching many valuable process improvements including virtual consultations, agent chat and the implementation of new air booking technology for vacation agents. Bloom brings more than 10 years of leadership experience in the retail space with a focus on associate engagement and business line growth.
After almost 20 years, Renata Cenni has spent her last day on the job with Hotelbeds. She started her journey started in July 2002 in London where she was hired as a contract manager for LATAM and the Caribbean for GTA, which was later acquired by Hotelbeds. “It has been an incredible journey where I am very proud of all the achievements,” she said in a posting, adding, “Thank you Hotelbeds, thank you everyone that has been part of those amazing years. I am excited to share what is next on my journey, but first let me to enjoy this time with my family and stay tuned!”
Marisol Lecumberri has joined G2 Travel as head of contracting, hotel division, North America. She comes to her new position from Hotelbeds, where she worked for nearly four years. Prior to that, she was with GTA and Tourico Holidays—both of which had been acquired by Hotelbeds.
Phil Gouel has been promoted from senior director corporate-strategy to vice president of vacation packages at Southwest Airlines. In this newly created role, Gouel will be responsible for leading the evolution of the Southwest Vacations product, along with Southwest’s standalone hotel and car ancillary products. Gouel has been with Southwest for more than five years. Previously he was part of the senior management structure at the global consulting firm, Oliver Wyman.
Jet2holidays has promoted Lloyd Cross to general manager of trade sales after more than a decade with the operator. He has been a part of Jet2’s trade team for the past eight years, working with agents to grow their business with the company. In his new role, Cross will be responsible for ensuring Jet2’s trade team are providing agent partners with the knowledge, support and data they need to sell Jet2holidays’ product confidently. Cross will report to Jet2holidays head of trade sales Alan Cross.
Aya Désirs du Monde, a French tour operator that includes USA destinations and experiences in its product line, has announced the appointment of Rina Andria within its teams. He’ll hold the position of sales manager for the brand in the northern part of France as well as the Île-de- France.
Andria has strong credentials in the tourism business, have worked at Jet Tours, Thomas Cook and MisterFly. He joins Bruno Didkovsky in charge of the South of France.
Marissa Maheu-Mendes has been promoted to the position of public relations & influencer marketing manager at Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines. Maheu-Mendes, who joined Sunwing more than five-and-a-half years ago, was previously public relations & promotions supervisor. Prior to joining Sunwing, she was marketing coordinator for Canada at Pulse Communications & Travel Marketing.
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Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Visit Wichita is searching for a new vice president of sales. More details here.
—There is an opening for the position of chief tourism development officer at OneSpartanburg Inc. More details here.
—The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director, PHL Diversity. More details here.
—The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More details here.
—Visit Tucson is recruiting for an executive vice president. More details here.
—The Manistee County Visitors Bureau in Michigan, is searching for a new executive director. More details here.
—Visit Seattle is searching for a new president and CEO. More details here.
—Conference Direct, a provider of global meeting planning solutions, is searching for vice president of global sales. More details here.
—Meet Minneapolis has an opening for a vice president of equity, diversity and inclusion. More details here.
—The South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new CVB director. More details here.
—The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new chief financial officer. More details here.
—Visit El Paso is searching for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
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From LinkedIn Jobs: Known to many across the board in the travel and tourism industry, the LinkedIn list (click here) has numerous job opportunities posted. Following is a sample of some of those jobs currently listed.
—The U.S. Travel Association, the association for the whole of the U.S. travel and tourism industry, has posted an opening for the position of manager, grassroots and PAC. More details here.
—The City of Virginia Beach is searching for a vice president of marketing. More details here.
—The Chicago Botanic Garden has an opening for an associate vice president, visitor experience. More details here.
—The Colorado Tourism Office is looking for an international program manager. More details here.
—The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, based in Orlando, has an opening for a director of communications and marketing. More details here.
—Legends in New York City has an opening for a manager of tourism & trade sales. More details here.
—Tulsa Regional Tourism has an opening for a vice president of sales & experiences. More details here.
—VISIT DENVER, The Convention and Visitors Bureau, is seeking an associate director, public relations & communications. More details here.
—MMGY Global is searching for an account executive. More details here.
—The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada, is recruiting for a new director of communications and marketing. More details here.
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Have a job to offer in the travel and tourism industry? Let us know and we’ll post your notice—no cost to you. Email tom@tomberrigan.com
