Who got a new gig this week? Check out this week’s travel industry movers & shakers.
1. Malaysia Airlines welcomes Felicity Allan as sales manager
Malaysia Airlines has appointed Felicity Allan Sales Manager of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory, effective from 15 August 2016.
Felicity has more than 16 years experience in sales management and will assist the company to set up a streamlined approach to managing, negotiating and entering into new relationships with a diverse range of partners.
Prior to joining Malaysia Airlines, Felicity worked for Creative Holidays, AAT Kings, Cover-More Group and most recently spent six years as Regional Industry Sales Manager at Virgin Australia.
Allan said Malaysia Airlines is one of the best full-service carriers in the world with great aircraft, top notch in-flight service, an excellent frequent flyer program and seasonal fare deals making it a fantastic operation to be part of.
Bennet Stephens, Malaysia Airlines Regional Manager for the ANZ market, said Felicity will focus on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales offering, promoting the airlines presence throughout Australia.
2. Air New Zealand’s Australia team welcomes new employees
Air New Zealand has bolstered its Australian sales team with nine new recruits across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
New South Wales has welcomed Product and Pricing Manager Amanda Swallow, Business Development Manager Stella Hritis and Retail Marketing Executive Lara De Carla. Victoria has welcomed State Manager Damien Van Eyk, Business Development Managers Diana Devlin and Sue Lim, and Trade Marketing Executive Karmun Lin.
Western Australia has welcomed Business Development Managers Jacqueline Tan and Janelle Philpott.
3. AccorHotels appointments Craig Reaume to GM of Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
AccorHotels has appointed Craig Reaume to the position of General Manager at its original upscale address in the CBD, the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. Immediately prior to his appointment, Craig was Hotel Manager at the hotel, a role he assumed in April this year.
Previously, Craig was based at AccorHotel’s Sydney Olympic Park where he was Hotel Manager.
New to Sydney, Craig is a highly experienced hotelier with more than 25 years’ experience across some of the world’s leading hotel brands. Craig relocated in November 2015 after a long career in Canada and the United States, primarily with FRHI Hotels (a leading global hotel company with over 100 hotels under the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel brands recently acquired by Accor Hotels) and Delta Hotels.
Most notably, he was Hotel Manager one of New York’s most iconic hotel addresses, The Plaza, a Fairmont Managed Hotel. In recent years, he was also General Manager at the Fairmont Mayakoba located on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico; and the Fairmont Battery Wharf, on the Boston Waterfront.
Previous to these hotels, Craig worked in a number of high profile general manager assignments in Canada. He was Hotel Manager at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York and General Manager at The Fairmont Vancouver Airport in British Columbia, the only North American airport hotel to ever be recognized on Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 100 Gold List.
Earlier in his career, Craig worked for Marriott’s Delta Hotels & Resorts in Canada for 16 years, in a variety of General Manager and Director of Operations roles.
4. Brand USA welcomes new Director for Australia & New Zealand
Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation charged with increasing international tourism visitation to the United States, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Fletcher to the role of Director for Australia and New Zealand (effective September 7).
Matt brings to Brand USA more than 10 years of experience in sales and marketing within the travel industry, having worked across tour operations, retail as well as wholesale. Matt has previously held the role of Sales and Marketing Director at Contiki, and was most recently the Global Commercial Development Director also for Contiki.
“I’m delighted and honoured to be joining Brand USA. Having travelled to more than 50 countries, some of my happiest travel moments have been in the USA, and there really is no rival when it comes to the diversity of experiences on offer,” he said.
“As a lover of the great outdoors in particular, for me there’s no greater place to explore than the USA’s national parks.
“I’m really looking forward to working with our industry partners, and to continue building on the impressive growth in visitor numbers to the USA from Australia and New Zealand.”
5. Kerryn Cook Resigns from Cook Islands Tourism
The Cook Islands Tourism Corporation announced this week the departure of Kerryn Cook from her role as General Manager for Australia as of 25 July 2016.
Kerryn has played a crucial role in promoting awareness of the Cook Islands in the Australian market, helping to achieve an 11 percent growth in Australian visitor numbers since taking up the position back in 2011.
During her time as General Manager she executed several successful roadshow campaigns, such as the national It takes a Village trade events, developed and implemented training tools to assist CookIslands trade partners, and worked on the concept of the first ever Cook Islands mega familfrom the Australian market in partnership with valued airline partner Air New Zealand.
“I want to express my deep thanks to our trade partners for all their support and commitment to the Australian Market”,. said Kerryn. “As a team we all contributed to Australia’s success and for that I’m so appreciative.”
Kerryn will also be resigning as President of the Treasures of the South Pacific Association, a position she was appointed to in 2015.
6. Hertz appoints Vincent Gillet as Vice President, Marketing International
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has announced the appointment of Vincent Gillet to Vice President, Marketing International.
Mr Gillet is responsible for leading the marketing strategy and plans for the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Mr Gillet reports to Matt Jauchius, Chief Marketing Officer, and to Jim Mueller, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management, International. His organization includes the regional marketing, e-commerce/digital, partner marketing, product development and brand teams.
Vincent Gillet joins Hertz as a senior marketing leader with extensive, international experience in the automotive and travel sectors, as well as in retail, and wine and spirits. He has a strong track record of customer-led marketing, product innovation, re-invigorating brands, best-in-class digital platforms, and partnership development.
Most recently Mr Gillet served as the Global Vice President of brand at Infiniti, Nissan Motors’ premium brand, where he innovated Infiniti’s overall brand strategy to drive significant volume growth. Prior to Infiniti, he held the role of Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader for W and Le Meridien hotels at the Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where he was responsible for the brand management and strategic development of 145 hotels.
Vincent Gillet previously served as Chief Marketing Officer at Six Senses Hotels and Spa, a sustainable luxury and wellness brand in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Before entering the hospitality sector,
Mr Gillet worked in the wine and spirits industry, including the Stoli brand of Pernod as Global Brand Director; Mumm and Perrier Jouer Champagnes as UK Country Manager; and Moet & Chandon as Senior Brand Manager. He started his career in retail with the Chanel Group, with roles in international marketing communications and advertising.
7. Silversea appoints Amber Wilson as GM, Asia Pacific
Silversea Cruises is pleased to announce Amber Wilson as the ultra-luxury cruise line’s General Manager for Asia Pacific.
Based in the Sydney office, Wilson will be responsible for the Asia Pacific markets, revenue and the direction of sales and marketing management with the Sydney and Singapore teams reporting directly to her.
With over 17 years’ experience in the travel and cruise industries and a strong commercial background, Wilson has worked across a range of senior management roles in Australia and the UK. Previous cruise experience includes Star Cruises & Norwegian Cruise Line, where Wilson quickly rose from Sales Coordinator to Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition (MICE) Sales Manager.
Most recently, Wilson held the position of General Manager, Sales & Marketing at Cruiseco, a tenure of 12 years that saw her team quadruple in size. Key projects included the launch of the brand in the UK, and the scope of work stretched from river to ocean cruises, highlighting the breadth of experience she now brings to the Silversea organisation.