Helloworld Travel has appointed former Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold managing director Karen Deveson to the role of General Manager – Cruise, replacing long-time Helloworld leader and industry favourite, Catherine Allison.
Catherine Allison held the General Manager Cruise, Product & Commercial role at Helloworld Travel for three years and worked for the company for twelve years. Ms Allison also previously worked for Jetstet Travel Group, Carnival Australia and Carnival UK.
Incoming Ms Deveson was most recently the MD for Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold and will be filling the “big” shoes of Catherine Allison who is returning to her homeland in the UK for personal reasons.
In a communication to supplier partners, Cinzia Burnes said “We know that Catherine will be missed by all our Cruise Lines partners, and she will most definitely be missed at Helloworld.
“Karen may not have the “cruise” specific experience; however, our focus was to appoint someone who could continue to cultivate the excellent partnerships Catherine and her team have established over the years, as well as have the business acumen to apply to Commercial, Product and Operations.
“To this point, Josh Gordon (Commercial) Kristy Johnson (covering Product whilst Jade Shaw is on Mat Leave) and Steven Dodds (Operations) will be reporting directly to Karen.
“I am sure you will join me in thanking Catherine Allison for her dedication and incredible work ethic and wish her all the best for the future, while at the same time welcoming Karen with the warmth and support which distinguishes the Cruise industry.
“We have big plans for our Cruise division and now that we are all sailing again, the next chapter will be extremely exciting,” Ms Burnes added.