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TOPDECK TRAVEL: NEW LEADERS & NEXT LEVEL INNOVATION

Award winning youth tour operator, Topdeck Travel, has announced the appointment of Joe Ponte as their new Global General Manager following 18 months of success as GM for the brand’s Asia Pacific region.

Award winning youth tour operator, Topdeck Travel, has announced the appointment of Joe Ponte as their new Global General Manager following 18 months of success as GM for the brand’s Asia Pacific region.

The Flight Centre Limited owned brand has also appointed Ben Ittensohn as Regional Manager, Asia Pacific with 2017 marking Ittensohn’s 10-year anniversary working for the company.

Ponte’s new role has been relocated to the company’s London headquarters to immerse himself in the global product, operations and management teams of the business.

Joe Ponte

Joe Ponte

Ponte has an extensive travel background, having served as General Manager Asia Pacific at Topdeck Travel, Customer Experience and Marketing Manager at Insider Journeys, Director at Brand USA and National Manager, Customer and Marketing at Stockland and Flight Centre, respectively.

According to Topdeck Travel, Ponte brings “a market-driven/customer-centric approach to the role along with a passion for making people thrive, which will contribute to maintaining the company’s unique value proposition, innovating the product in line with ephemeral demand and diversifying source markets to meet Topdeck’s aggressive growth targets over the next five years.”

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Topdeck Travel Europe

“While I’ll surely miss the passionate team I’ve had the pleasure of cultivating in our Asia Pacific region, I’m thrilled to be working more closely with the strong teams based out of our London headquarters and taking the company’s customer orientation to new heights through product innovation.

Joe Ponte, Global General Manager, Topdeck Travel

Ben Ittensohn has stepped into the role of Regional Manager Asia Pacific with experience at Topdeck spanning across three continents, working in a variety of roles including stints as Director of Sales for Asia Pacific and South Africa and Sales and Marketing Manager.

Ittensohn says “I am delighted to accept the Asia Pacific Regional Manager role and have this opportunity to help shape the new evolution of Topdeck. We have some exciting growth plans towards 2021. It’s an exciting time to be part of the company and in this new position, I look forward to bringing our teams closer together and in particular sales, marketing and customer service teams to continue to expand our brand in the Asia Pacific region.”

Ben Ittensohn

Ben Ittensohn

Ittensohn started his career with Topdeck as State Sales Manager and has seen incredible growth over the years. Ittensohn reminisces, “In 2007 when I started, we were based in Sydney and our core operation was in Europe and today we travel all over the globe. I have never been more excited to work for Topdeck and after winning the Best Tour Operator-International at the NTIA’s, it really is a testament to how far Topdeck has come. It’s a wonderful recognition, not only for our brand but for the people in this business that all play a massive part in delivering a trip of a lifetime for our customers.”

Topdeck feature

Ittensohn continues “It’s our people and culture that make our business great. I intend to set a strong direction for Topdeck and ensure its continued success in important markets for Topdeck globally. We have some exciting growth plans towards 2021. It is a privilege to lead such passionate and driven teams.”

READ: Topdeck Travel win at the NTIA Award’s 2017

READ: Europe is on fire with Topdeck Travel

What do you think of the new appointments at Topdeck Travel? Share your thoughts below.