● U.S. Travel Association National Chair Christine Duffy has announced the nomination of Christopher J. Nassetta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton, as the association’s next national chair, which would become effective in February 2023 following the conclusion of Duffy’s term as chair.
“In the spirit of transparency, we are sharing this announcement early in the process as we prepare for the change in CEO leadership at U.S. Travel in coming months, which will also ensure stability in our board leadership,” said Duffy, who serves as President of Carnival Cruise Line. “I wish to thank Chris for agreeing to his nomination as incoming national chair well in advance and for the expertise I know he will provide to our Executive Committee, board and staff, especially as a new top executive leads the organization forward.” Nassetta previously chaired U.S. Travel’s CEO Roundtable and is a member of the association’s Hall of Leaders.
Per the governing bylaws of the association, the membership of U.S. Travel will affirm Nassetta’s position as National Chair, along with the association’s slate of 2023 board officers, at an annual meeting to be held in February 2023.
Ranses Matta has joined the Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) as new head of business development for the U.S. He will join the team responsible for promoting Expedia TAAP in the country.
“I am excited to join the team responsible for promoting Expedia TAAP in the USA,” said Matta, who brings with him 16 years of aviation and travel industry experience at American Airlines, American Airlines Vacations and Delta Air Lines, working with travel advisors in the U.S. and overseas. In his latest role, he was responsible for contract negotiations, strategic partnership implementation, B2B marketing, inside sales and digital travel advisor platforms for the travel trade.
Julie Greenhill, director at Greg Evans Consultancy, has been appointed chair of the Visit USA Association and Andy Facer, director at 5F Marketing, as vice-chair for the next two years. Greenhill steps up from being vice-chair of the organization, which promotes travel to the United States by Britons. Chief executive Tracey Spuyman and operations and development manager Pamela Newman are both standing down.
The San Francisco Travel Association has announced two major personnel moves: Lynn Bruni-Perkins will become the interim CMO as the as the senior vice president, global marketing, joining the executive team as the marketing representative; and Dan Rosenbaum will be promoted to senior director, global marketing, taking on additional responsibilities from Lynn in the areas of digital media and advertising. Bruni-Perkins has been with the organization for nearly 15 years, while Rosenbaum is nearing a dozen years at the association.
Jacqueline Ledo has left Copa Airlines and has become the new head of commercial for Orinter Travel and Tourism. A veteran of more than two decades in the industry Ledo, served as director of sales for Copa, where she worked for nearly 14 years. She also served for 11 years as supervisor of sales at VARIG, which operated until a restructuring made it a part of Gol Airlines.
In the UK, Vicky Billing has joined Riviera Travel as commercial partnerships manager, where she’ll further expand the escorted touring and river cruise specialist’s trade links. Billing joins from The Travel Corporation where she was head of sales UK and Europe. She is a previous Royal Caribbean head of retail, and Thomas Cook store manager. She will report to Riviera channel director Stuart Milan.
Also in the UK, Prestige Holidays has rebranded as Prestige Travel, and has a new managing director as well. General sales manager Lee Hamilton has been promoted to managing director after eight years with the operator. Commenting on the new job, Hamilton said Prestige would redouble its support for the travel and tourism trade.
Chris Woodbridge-Cox has joined New York-headquartered Finn Partners in a newly created position of senior partner—travel representation. He will head up the travel trade team based in the company’s London office. In addition to public relations, marketing and representation experience, Woodbridge-Cox has spent the majority of his career working with well-known tour operators and online travel companies, holding senior positions in the UK, France and Germany.
Allianz Partners has announced that Elena Edwards has been promoted to chief markets officer at Europe-based Allianz Partners Group and that Jeff Wright has succeeded Edwards as CEO of the U.S. business unit. Prior to his promotion to CEO, Wright was the company’s chief financial officer. Edwards will also retain her position as CEO for North America, overseeing the company’s business units in the US and Canada. Allianz Partners USA offers travel and other specialty insurance products and assistance services through partners that include major airlines, hotel companies, cruise lines, online travel agencies, tour operators, travel advisors and directly to consumers.
Nikita Jankowski recently departed Destiny USA, the mega-shopping mall in Syracuse, New York, where she was marketing director for more than three years, to launch her own full-service public relations company—Belesal Communications—which will have a strong focus on the travel and entertainment industries. Jankowski also served for nearly five years as communications director at Visit Syracuse.
Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism has an opening for a new director of communications.More details here.
—Discover Santa Clara is looking for a new CEO. More detailshere.
—Choose Chicago is searching for a senior vice president of sales. More details here.
—The National Comedy Center has an opening for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
—The Muncie Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit GreenvilleSC is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Tulsa is recruiting for an SVP-president, Tulsa Regional Tourism. More details here.
—The Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau has an opening for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Visit Albuquerque is searching for a vice president of sales. More details here.
—Destinations International is looking for a senior vice president of marketing & communications. More details here.
—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 detailshere.
—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.
—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.
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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 University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), International Operations department is currently recruiting for an International Travel Specialist. More details here.
—Bloomingdale’s in Long Island City, NY, is looking for a senior manager of international marketing/tourism. More details here.
—There is an opening for senior manager, marketing, at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles. More details here.
—The Borgata in Atlantic City (it is a part of MGM Resorts International) is searching for a manager of public relations. More details here.
—Legends in NYC is looking for a manager, tourism and trade sales. More details here.
—There is an opening for a Luxury Leisure Travel Manager at the AMPM Group, New York City Metropolitan Area. More details here.
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism is recruiting for an executive assistant who will report directly to the president/CEO. More details here.
—New Orleans & Company is looking for a marketing manager its tourism sales & marketing department. More details here.
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Other Openings:
—Major league baseball’s New York Yankees have posted a job description to manage their tourism efforts moving forward. They’re looking to fill the position fairly quickly. More details here.
—Several assignments, including one for a regional partnership manager, are currently available at Visit Florida. More details here.
—Travel Wisconsin is recruiting for someone to fill the position of consumer communications specialist. More detailshere.
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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. Emailtom@tomberrigan.com
