Selected as the Rising Star 2013 of The Top Young Travel Professionals in the Business Today Agent@Home and VacationAgent Magazine

1. Travel Agents
Jonathan Alder: A sports and luxury travel ad-
visor at The Travel Store in Los Angeles, Alder, 33, joined
the agency — and the industry — about three years
ago, after taking a class that The Travel Store offered to
attract younger agents. Last year, he became a member
of the agency’s President’s Club, producing more than
$100,000 in commissions; his gross sales are $3 million to
$4 million annually. He created a model at the agency for sports travel (travel
for athletes and their families to sporting events and for leisure vacations) and
also sells customized, FIT vacations.
Jeffrey Anderson: Anderson, 32, vice president
of marketing for Avoya Travel, an American Express Travel
Representative, grew up in the industry; the host agency in
Vista, Calif., was founded by his grandparents in the 1960s.
Anderson oversees several departments, including, busi-
ness development, marketing, commerce, groups, public
relations, professional development, events and promo-
tions. He is also responsible for the agency’s website, including design, content,
supplier deals and driving customers to the site, which has a user interface that
facilitates vacation sales. Anderson also has generated new customers via
Avoya’s Live Leads program, which sends leads to independent affiliates.
Daren Autry: Autry, 23, is manager of operations
for the leisure and romance travel divisions of Montrose
Travel in Montrose, Calif., an Ensemble Travel Group
agency. As leader of the agency’s leisure operations, he
has increased agent monthly profitability by 11 percent.
Autry also managed supplier relations and was instru-
mental in driving a 42 percent increase in leisure supplier
overrides for 2012. He joined Montrose Travel at age 18 in 2007 in a part-time,
entry-level administrative capacity. Since then, Autry has worked his way up
into leadership roles, including a supervisory role in the agency’s leisure and
romance travel division.
Laura Bassett: Bassett, 34, owns Haute
Holidays Travel, LLC, in Dallas, an independent affiliate
of Brownell Travel, a Virtuoso agency. Bassett, a CPA,
entered the travel industry through the Brownell Travel
Mentoring Program. She has planned many special-
occasion trips and has “saved” clients who began
planning their own trips but couldn’t finish due to lack of
time and knowledge. Bassett is adept at social media, with Facebook, Twitter
and Pinterest pages, as well as a blog, where she tells about her own travels,
posts travel articles and current offers, and invites clients to post their own
vacation photos.
Cassandra Bookholder: A luxury travel
advisor at Camelback Odyssey Travel, a Virtuoso agency
in Phoenix, Bookholder, 29, is a Travel + Leisure A-List
agent who specializes in Australia and the South Pacific.
Most of her custom trips start at around $20,000. She
has traveled to destinations such as the Wolgan Valley,
about three hours west of Sydney, before they became
trendy and has created post-trip presentations that educate her colleagues.
An Australia native, she has been an agent at Camelback Odyssey for about
six years, first as an in-house agent and then as an independent contractor.
Angela Brown: The 35-year-old operations
manager at Dugan’s Travels in Rio Rancho, N.M., Brown,
35, helped Dugan’s reach Platinum level with Apple Va-
cations and sell $1 million in travel with Funjet Vacations
in 2012. She has been a travel agent since 2004 and has
been on the agency’s management team for the past few
years. Brown has implemented a new commission pro-
gram and created an Intranet site for Dugan’s independent agents to connect
with one another and participate in training. She also revamped the training
program, adding a coordinator and introducing online quizzes and courses in
areas like customer service and preferred suppliers.
Valerie DeJainne: DeJainne, 31, a luxury travel
consultant at TravelSmiths Inc. in Point Pleasant, N.J.,
has doubled her commission-only salary each year since
joining the Signature Travel Network agency seven
years ago, after working in hotel management. She
specializes in luxury exotic honeymoons and destina-
tion weddings, with about 75 percent of her bookings
coming from those niches. Among the destinations she has booked are Bora
Bora and Maldives. In addition, 100 percent of her new business is gener-
ated through referrals. She credits Signature Travel Network and its targeted
marketing campaigns for much of her success.
Justin Dolan: As director of sales for CTA Travel
in Cerritos, Calif., Dolan, 35, works with the agency’s Sig-
nature Travel Network business development partners to
create new business. He also oversees the travel sales
for the company’s employees and ensures that they are
trained on the latest developments with preferred ven-
dors. In addition, he coordinates customized travel for
the agency’s luxury clients, specializing in exotic destinations. Dolan joined
CTA Travel in 1997 at the age of 19 as a corporate agent. He also serves on
ASTA’s Young Professionals Society board.
continued on next page
Our annual list of the top young travel professionals in the business today
Welcome to our second annual edition of Rising Stars, in which
we profile the top young executives and travel agents in
the industry.This year we feature nearly 80 travel executives and
travel agents 35 and under whom we have culled from a variety
of sources. First, we asked our editors and publishing staff for
their suggestions for candidates in every segment of the industry.
We also asked top travel suppliers, travel organizations, travel
agencies and travel agency groups for their nominees.Then our
editorial team judged those it felt were best qualified for inclu-
sion. Many great young travel executives and travel agents are in
the market today, so we couldn’t possibly include them all. But we
hope this annual list gives you an idea of the incredible talent, en-
thusiasm, productivity and ambition that these young Rising Stars
bring to this wonderful industry. — James Shillinglaw

2. To learn more about Avoya Travel®
and The Avoya Advantage™ please visit
JoinAvoya.com or call 888-500-6232 today!
CONGRATULATIONS JEFFREY ANDERSON!
Avoya Travel’s Vice President of Marketing
Your passion, ingenuity, and leadership have taken your family’s travel business to the
forefront of the industry. The Anderson family is famous for developing a unique and
successful host agency with the foundation of professionalism and integrity that have
become the hallmark of Avoya Travel.
Your career is still in its youth, yet with 15 years at Avoya Travel, your accomplishments
are remarkable. We’re looking forward to the many years ahead!
Jeffrey Anderson has made Avoya Travel Best in Class and provided
Shared Success opportunities for Independent Agencies, supplier
partners, and traveler’s worldwide by helping to create:
INNOVATIVE MARKETING
AWARD-WINNING TECHNOLOGY
LEAD GENERATION WITH AVOYA’S LIVE LEADS™
POWERFUL REPUTATION
EXCEPTIONAL VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS
VISION FOR THE FUTURE

3. august 2013 • vacationagentmagazine.com74
Nicole Galowin: Galowin, 35, is director of
inside sales and support services for Vacation.com, han-
dling more than 4,000 member inquiries a month while
achieving a service level rating above 95 percent. She
has been with Vacation.com, a Travel Leaders Group
consortium, for five years and manages three groups
within the organization: member services specialists,
member services leads and inside sales account managers. As a leader in
Vacation.com’s inside sales organization, she and her department assists
field managers on a daily basis. In addition, she has had a direct impact on
the company’s membership growth.
Louisa Gehring: The 27-year-old owner of
Gehring Travel in Wilmington, N.C., is well aware that
younger travelers grew up in the age of web-based
travel booking and communicates with them in the
manner they prefer, via texting, iChat and social media
(Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest), her largest market-
ing vehicle. Approximately five out of six clients directed
from Facebook to her website go from looking to booking. Gehring also blogs
about her recent trips. Before starting her own business, which is an inde-
pendent affiliate of Brownell Travel, a Virtuoso agency, she was a marketing
manager for a top tourism bureau and a Fortune 500 company.
Lindsay Monell Hardy: A $1 million-plus
travel seller, Monell Hardy, 31, is director of sales and
manager of the Jacksonville, Fla., location for Travel
Leaders of Palm Coast. In 2010 she became the agency’s
top-producing travel consultant by selling more than $1
million in travel. In 2011 she became director of sales
with the responsibility for training and managing four
other travel consultants, and she still sold more than $1.3 million in travel that
year. Among her other accomplishments: She has raised the rate of insur-
ance sales to more than 90 percent of all leisure bookings, instituted a client
referral rewards program and appeared on TV to promote travel.
Daniela Harrison: Specializing in custom
European vacations, Harrison, 30, is a travel consultant at
Avenues of the World Travel, a Signature Travel Network
agency in Flagstaff, Ariz. She has been in her position —
and in the industry — for three years. She’s also an Aus-
sie specialist and is starting to sell fundraising travel. She
serves on the outreach and communications committee
for ASTA’s Young Professionals Society and is spearheading a young agents’
community within Signature Travel Network, which will launch this fall. The
group will provide outreach, training and other services to young adults who
are considering a career in travel retailing.
Cathy Kusuma: The 35-year-old director of
training and program development at Cruise Planners in
Fort Lauderdale, Kusuma oversees the department for the
company and its franchisees, 80 percent of whom join as
newcomers to the industry. Her efforts have helped sales
by franchisees to grow by about 27 percent in the past
two years. Kusuma has been instrumental in developing
the online and live curriculum and programs for Cruise Planners University
during her three years at Cruise Planners. She oversees the initial, live training
in Fort Lauderdale for new franchisees, manages the online university, and
writes some of the curriculum.
Jamie Lemke: Lemke, 33, a travel advisor at Luxe
Travel in Milwaukee, has won the Apple Vacations Golden
Apple Award, been accepted into Funjet Vacations’ 500
Club, and has been named a Karisma Top Producer. She
specializes in destination weddings and honeymoons,
and she is eager to take on new technology challenges.
For example, she has designed websites for her destina-
tion wedding clients and their guests. Lemke also specializes in incentive and
group travel, having taken more than 300 guests on multiple incentive trips.
She has been with the agency for more than 12 years.
Christina Malik: Malik, 33, is vice president of
Travel Leaders Group’s Worldwide Hotel Program and also
oversees hotel relationships for Tzell Travel Group, a divi-
sion of Travel Leaders Group. Based in Miami, she was first
promoted to the vice president level within Tzell in 2011,
making her the youngest vice president in Tzell’s history. At
Tzell, she took the hotel program from about 100 properties
to more than 500 in two years. She also has been instrumental in the success of
Travel Leaders Group’s hotel program, which was launched earlier this year. That
program now includes more than 30,000 hotels worldwide.
Karl Persson: Persson’s expertise in tech-
nology has enabled All Inclusive Outlet to sell large
volumes of rooms with “a very streamlined operation,”
says Tom Carr, owner of the Lexington, Ky., agency. “It’s
all due to his prowess in online technology. Karl built our
online reservations system himself several years ago.”
Persson, 34, vice president of e-commerce, manages
the company’s in-house development team and works with suppliers to
coordinate efficiencies between systems.
Carr met Persson while at a music event at his old college fraternity. “He
mentioned I needed to get MP3s instead of CDs,” said Carr recently. “I said
‘What the heck is an MP3?’ And he responded, ‘My friend in Sweden uses
them. It’s a file you can put on a computer.’ I knew that the guy was way
ahead of the game in technology.”
Rosemarie Reed: Reed, 30, is director of market-
ing for CruiseOne/Cruises Inc., part of World Travel
Holdings. While at the company, she spearheaded and
managed the web applications for an email marketing
campaign and oversaw the redesign and rebrand-
ing of the CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. websites. Since
becoming director of marketing, she has restructured the
consumer marketing team to become more digital. She also has developed
a marketing campaign to enhance the customer’s web experience and
direct mail options, as well as increase the brands’ online presence. She
redesigned the company’s magazine, World Traveler, and in March 2013, she
launched a video asset sharing program.
Jessica Sussman: A group agent at Frosch in
New York, Sussman, 28, is an Israel and affinity group
specialist, designing custom itineraries. With experi-
ence in design, she has created brochures to promote
trips to groups, handling the layout and design. She also
developed an unofficial guide of cities she’s visited, with
recommendations on restaurants, cultural activities and
other amenities, and provides copies of it to some of the groups she sells.
She has been with Frosch, part of GSM Travel Management, for three of her
four years as an agent, and she has been in the agency’s groups department
for two years.
Josh Tolkin: Tolkin, 27, is director of business
development for World Travel Holdings, focusing on the
agency’s Resort Vacations initiative, a strategy to grow
land vacation sales. There, he and his team have been
responsible for an increase in sales of more than 45
percent year-over-year. He joined the company in 2010,
participating in a rotational program where he spent
time in each of the company’s divisions. Tolkin also has been instrumental in
executing revenue-generating opportunities for World Travel Holdings UK,
contributing to the launch of the Luxury Cruise division, and formulating a plan
to launch the Resort Vacations division.
Cruise Lines
Remi Boisvert: The 34-year-old director of opera-
tions and accounting at SeaDream Yacht Club, Boisvert
started with the line in February 2004 as a staff accoun-
tant. He was promoted to manager-accounting in 2007
and to his current position in 2010. Boisvert is responsible
for reservations, charter coordination, office manage-
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4. ment and accounting. His bosses at SeaDream
say his promotions have been well-earned
as Boisvert is a “hard-working, intelligent
leader always looking out for the best interests
of SeaDream guests, the company and his
co-workers.” Originally from Massachusetts,
Boisvert grew up in the Miami area before
graduating with honors from the University of
Richmond in Virginia.
Barbara Cobas:
With a travel agent
father and flight attendant
mother, Cobas, 32, director
of onboard sales and
business development
support at Royal Carib-
bean International, was born into the travel
industry. She began her career working in her
father’s Chicago travel agencies for nine years.
After college, Cobas joined Royal Caribbean
as onboard cruise staff and moved through the
ranks to assistant cruise director before moving
shoreside in 2005. She helped introduce the
three Freedom- and two Oasis-class ships. In
2012, Cobas joined the sales organization and
now leads shipboard Loyalty & Cruise Sales
Managers teams and the business development
support team in Miami.
Sara Conley: Con-
ley, 32, director of social
media and special projects
at Viking Cruises, has risen
through the ranks since
joining the line in 2006 as
a marketing coordinator
with a focus on creative production. In her cur-
rent director-level role in the marketing depart-
ment, Conley is responsible for Viking’s social
media strategy, online management, and loyalty
and referral programs. She leads a team that
reacts to online consumer feedback by guiding
adjustments to product, operations, marketing
and customer service. She also has a role in
public relations, building relationships with key
journalists and participating in media trips and
events in Europe.
Alicia
Cummings: Director
of product marketing at
Paul Gauguin Cruises,
Cummings, 34, oversees
all marketing for the
two-ship cruise line,
including online/email marketing, direct mail,
product and brand marketing, print advertising/
buying, public relations and social media. She
supervises a marketing staff of five and multiple
vendors. Highlights of the past year include
leading the marketing team’s launch of the line’s
new ship, the Tere Moana and its Europe, Carib-
bean and Latin America itineraries. Cummings
also worked on launching new 2014 itineraries
in Australia and Southeast Asia for the Paul
Gauguin, as well as developing new branding,
advertising, and onboard and website initiatives
for the line.
Albino
Di Lorenzo: Now
director-cruise operations,
MSC Cruises, Di Lorenzo,
32, began his career with
MSC Cruises in April 2007,
managing the hotel side of
the construction of the MSC Poesia and MSC
Orchestra. Since then he has risen through the
ranks, working shipboard as manager-onboard
revenue on those two ships before moving to
the U.S. to become manager-cruise operations.
In 2011 he was promoted to his current position.
Born in Italy, Albino served in the Air Force be-
fore earning both a law and a master’s degree.
But his dream was living abroad, traveling and
working in a multicultural environment, and he
achieved that dream with MSC Cruises.
Stephanie
Leavitt: Due in large
part to Leavitt, 31, Carni-
val’s social media pres-
ence has grown at a rapid
pace in recent years with
more than 2.2 million Face-
book fans and nearly 78,000 Twitter followers.
Leavitt established this area for the brand as
director of digital marketing. She oversees the
company’s online experience and operations
team, which includes web production, content
and design, editorial videos, social media and
online operations. The six-year Carnival veteran
also helped integrate social media into the com-
pany’s overall marketing strategy, using video
and consumer engagement tools to promote the
“Fun Ship” vacation experience.
Nils Lindstad:
With more than 12 years of
cruise industry experi-
ence, Lindstad, 33, is man-
ager of sales for Azamara
Club Cruises. He works
closely with Azamara’s
dedicated sales managers throughout North
America to help promote and sell the brand,
which emphasizes longer stays in ports, more
overnights and night touring. He also works with
Royal Caribbean International’s sales managers.
In addition, Lindstad manages sales compensa-
tion, sales reporting, co-op marketing, com-
missions and trade incentive programs for the
Azamara sales team. Before joining Azamara in
October 2009, Linstad was director-shoreside
operations for SeaDream Yacht Club, where he
originally joined as an intern.
Charles B.
Robertson: The
25-year-old director of mar-
keting for American Cruise
Lines and Pearl Seas
Cruises manages the mar-
keting program, overseeing
the strategy, development and execution of all
brand elements. Robertson’s responsibilities also
include legal and regulatory work. He is one of
three brothers working in the family business.
Robertson assumed the director of marketing
position in early 2012. In the past year, American
Cruise Lines has launched a new ship, added
three new itineraries, and expanded its reach
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5. august 2013 • vacationagentmagazine.com76
into new marketing channels in the U.S. and abroad. He started with American
Cruise Lines in 2004 as a summer intern. He worked on the company’s ships
and obtained a U.S. Coast Guard Master’s License before moving to the office
full-time in 2009 as a marketing manager. He still serves shipboard as a mate
several times each year.
He is a graduate of the University of Richmond in Virginia, where he earned
a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management. This fall he will begin an
MBA program at Columbia University while retaining his full-time position.
Marisa Scime: Norwegian Cruise Line pro-
moted Scime, 31, to director of social media and public
relations on her 30th birthday last year. She joined
Norwegian in April 2005 as a temporary administrative
assistant and has held several positions of increasingly
greater responsibility since then. In August 2011, Scime
became manager of social media and public relations.
Eight months later, she was promoted to director. “Throughout her career at
Norwegian, Marisa has been a true rising star,” says AnneMarie Mathews,
vice president-public relations. “Since joining the public relations team,
Marisa has taken our social media efforts to new heights and continues to
lead this growing segment of the business.”
Alexios Tsokos: The vice president-operations
for Cruise & Maritime Voyages USA, Tsokos, 26, began
working in Global Maritime Group’s Piraeus office in 2009
when the company owned the Marco Polo, which was
chartered to London-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
He worked in various departments and spent two months
on board to learn ship management. In early 2011, Global
Maritime Group and Cruise & Maritime Voyages merged, and Tsokos moved to
Fort Lauderdale to set up a U.S. operation. The office booked almost as many
passengers from North America in the first three months of 2013 as it did in all
of 2012, which he attributes to a no-NCF policy and great passenger reviews.
Filippos Venetopoulos: Part of the third
generation that owns Variety Cruises, Venetopoulos,
27, worked his way up from a cruise director to sales
director in the U.S., which makes up 80 percent of the
company’s sales. Business has increased in the last
year, and 35 percent of the business for 2014 is already
booked. Venetopoulos is on track to take over when his
father, Lakis Venetopoulos, steps down as acting CEO of the company, which
has been in business since 1949 (previously as Zeus Cruises). Filippos is also
a member of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises.
Rachel Woodward: The former captain of
USC’s women’s basketball team, Woodward, 30, joined
Silversea in January 2012 as area sales director-North-
west for Silversea Cruises after seven years with Crystal
Cruises. Based in San Francisco, she is responsible for
Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Montana,
Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, and Colorado. Her bosses
describe her as “a results-driven, talented sales professional who reinforces
Silversea’s commitment to providing an enhanced and highly personalized
level of service to travel agent partners.”
A graduate of the University of Southern California, this Woman of Troy
currently serves as president of USC’s Young Alumni Council and works to
promote volunteerism and leadership.
Hotels & Resorts
Armin Asceric: In less than a decade Asceric,
30, has emerged as one of the Caribbean’s leading hotel
professionals. Currently brand and marketing manager
of Sunswept Resorts, Asceric has held key positions at
international resorts and tourism organizations. Inspired
by former Mandarin Oriental General Manager Rudy
Tauscher, like Asceric a native of tiny Tettnang, Germany
(population 18,000), Asceric continues to heed Tauscher’s motto: “Every little
detail matters and attention to it is the key.”
Asceric’s present-day success is easy to understand considering his
distinguished industry background. He previously served as sales manager
and marketing manager at St. Lucia’s Sugar Beach Residences & Villas and
guest relations manager at Jalousie Plantation. Asceric has also served on
the industry’s front lines, including as front desk clerk at the Ibis Hotel in
Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Amanda Carlow: The 25-year-old director of
sales and marketing for Sirenus Hotels & Resorts, Carlow
began her travel industry career interning at Karisma Ho-
tels & Resorts. During her four years with the company,
from 2008 to 2012, she rose from intern to marketing man-
ager. In February, Carlow joined Sirenis Hotels & Resorts
as director of sales and marketing. She eagerly accepted
the challenge of opening Sirenis Hotels & Resorts’ first U.S.-based property in
Miami. Within the past four months, Carlow has hired a sales and marketing
team that she believes will greatly increase the company’s U.S. brand aware-
ness and ultimately generate robust sales for Sirenis properties.
Gibran Chapur: Chapur, 25, is executive vice
president of Palace Resorts. Chapur has worked in
virtually every division of the company, from purchasing
and operations to sales and management, acquiring
extensive knowledge of all aspects of the business.
Chapur is highly involved in Palace Resorts’ growth
and development programs, and leads its most
important projects, including renovations, expansion and investments. He
currently manages a worldwide sales team for Palace Resorts and Le Blanc
Spa Resort that has generated a 25 percent year-over-year increase in oc-
cupancy rates, more than double the average growth rate for the destination.
He also serves as the director of the Palace Elite Vacation Club, which has
sold more than 6,500 memberships during its first year, and is expected to sell
more than 10,000 memberships this year. Chapur also serves as the director of
the Palace Resorts Foundation.
Erica Doyne: As AMResorts Director of Market-
ing, Doyne, 32, oversees all global marketing and
publication strategies for North America, Latin America
and the U.K. Doyne also serves on AMResorts’ strategic
task force, which was created to conceive, develop
and successfully open new luxury resorts throughout
Mexico and the Caribbean. She is responsible for
identifying, executing and analyzing new marketing opportunities to further
develop AMResorts’ brands.
A six-year veteran of AMResorts, Doyne’s industry experience began with
her earlier positions at the company. They included strategic marketing lead-
ership, promotions, brand management and event planning, as well as the
creation and maintenance of all sales, marketing and business development
programs. Prior to joining AMResorts, Doyne was a member of the sales
force for WPVI-TV, Philadelphia.
Rafael F. Feliz, Jr.: Feliz, 32, is project leader
at Premier Worldwide Marketing, the exclusive world-
wide sales and marketing representatives for Karisma
Hotels & Resorts. He spearheads marketing, public
relations and strategic partnerships for El Dorado Spa
Resorts & Hotels, Azul Hotels & Villas and Generations
Resorts in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Some of his respon-
sibilities include overseeing Karisma’s relationships with Jackson Family
Wines, Fisher-Price and My Gym.
To highlight Karisma’s signature Gourmet Inclusive experience, Feliz this
year created an event with Michelin-star chef René Redzepi for guests at El
Dorado Casitas Royale to highlight the launch of Karisma’s Jackson Family
Wines Culinary Series.
Jerome Hiquet: Hiquet, 35, vice president of digi-
tal and marketing at Club Med North America, is respon-
sible for all Club Med marketing and communications,
including online initiatives, client relations, database
management and Club Med’s first loyalty program. Since
joining Club Med in 2008, Hiquet’s invaluable contribu-
tions to the evolution of Club Med’s online strategy are
highlighted by the re-development of Club Med websites in 27 countries in 15
languages, which has lead to strong revenue growth.
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6. august2013•vacationagentmagazine.com
77
Sarah Martinache: Within a few brief years,
Sarah Martinache’s talent and achievements have
combined to establish her as Riu Hotels & Resorts’ go-to
official in terms of the company’s all-important travel
agency relations. As director of partner marketing and
sales development, Sarah, 31, directs the company’s part-
ner marketing and business development department as
well as Riu’s travel agents department and its Riu Partner Club loyalty program.
As part of her role, Sarah directs the promotion of 35 Riu properties in
Mexico, Caribbean and Costa Rica, negotiating and establishing marketing
plans with key tour operators and supervising the sales distribution among
the travel agent community. This year Martinache initiated the “RIU Special-
ist Program” travel agent certification program and established the RIU
Partner Club as a leading travel agent loyalty program.
Rebecca Mervis: Mervis, 35, is director of
brand strategy and marketing for Cambria Suites, a
Choice Hotels International brand. She is responsible for
developing and executing strategic plans to ensure that
Cambria Suites’ product and services meet the current
and evolving needs of guests and are aligned with the
company’s marketing and franchise services strategies.
Choice Hotels is investing $250 million in the brand’s growth in high-pro-
file, high-performing markets across North America. Mervis works closely
with corporate executives, developers, public relations professionals and
the media to oversee groundbreaking and new hotel opening events. Most
recently, she organized and supervised the groundbreaking events at three
Cambria Suites in the New York and Washington, D.C. markets.
Ashley Parden: Known as the “voice of travel
agents” at Iberostar, 30-year-old marketing manager Ash-
ley Parden is a true agent advocate who is spearheading
the launch of the company’s new agent loyalty program.
Currently being tested with 20 of Iberostar’s top agencies,
the program will debut on a broader basis in 2014. Parden,
a three-year Iberostar veteran, handles all day-to-day
trade activities for the company, manages its agent incentive promotions, and
also works with tour operators and travel agencies on their cooperative mar-
keting plans. Parden plays an integral role in the company’s public relations
programs, serving as the liaison between Iberostar and its public relations
company. She joined Iberostar from the communications industry.
Jennifer Provence: Provence, 35, is executive
director of leisure sales for MGM Resorts International.
She joined the company in 2002 as a leisure sales
manager rising through the ranks to manage a staff
that is tasked with promoting the company’s 13 Las
Vegas properties, including some of the largest hotels
in the world. She and her team have integrated several
departments to become a one-stop shop for wholesalers and travel agents
to call regarding any of the company’s Las Vegas properties. And, despite the
economic downturn, her team has grown MGM Resorts’ leisure business by 10
percent since 2011.
Adam Stewart: The future of one of leisure
travel’s signature companies, Sandals Resorts Interna-
tional, rests in the surprisingly seasoned hands of Stew-
art, 31, the dynamic CEO of Sandals Resorts International.
Sandals owns the Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and
Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts brands.
Despite his youth, Adam is already a seasoned
hotelier. His father, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, launched Sandals the year of
Adam’s birth, and grew the one-property company to 21 resorts across five
islands. Raised in Jamaica, Adam worked in multiple roles at Sandals before
and after his graduation from Florida International University’s hospitality
management program.
Under Adam’s leadership, Sandals has experienced unprecedented growth,
launching innovative amenities, facilities and services. “Adam grew up living
and breathing this industry. His knowledge and passion for the business have
been evident from the very beginning,” says Butch Stewart.
Sandor Winkler: The youthful Chief Operating
Officer at Palace Resorts, Winkler, 32, executes overall
operational strategies for the Palace Resorts brand and
Le Blanc Spa Resort. Since joining Palace Resorts in
2004, Winkler has held various managerial positions in the
company, including that of director of tourism and other
services. In this role, Winkler was responsible for the cor-
porate direction of nine Palace Resorts properties in Mexico and the Dominican
Republic, as well as supervising 45 managers and division heads. Winkler also
managed more than 1,200 employees within the company’s nine divisions.
Winkler’s past marketing experience includes tenure with Creative Mar-
keting Alliance, a full-service marketing, communications and association
management firm based in New York.
Tours
Mark Accomando: Though the 24-year-old
Sceptre Tours vice president of sales is the son of the
founder of Sceptre, Mark Accomando proved himself
outside the company before joining the family business.
A 2010 graduate of Muhlenberg College, Mark worked for
Worldwide Express and became the company’s number-
one sales rep nationwide. When he joined Sceptre, Ac-
comando, hit the ground running and became an instrumental part of Sceptre
Tours’ rebranding project. Mark spearheaded the restructuring of Sceptre’s
sales team over the past six months, bringing a new, highly focused approach
to the tour operator’s sales strategy. Accomando has earned the respect of his
co-workers for his leadership talent, his attention to detail and his attitude of
never settling for less than the best that can be achieved.
Joelle Arriola: At age 35, Arriola has already
worked at Classic Vacations for 15 years, rising to the
important position of product director of Hawaii and
the South Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji
and Tahiti — the destinations that account for the major
piece of Classic’s business. Born in Guam, Joelle started
exploring the Pacific early in life. Arriola loves travel
and as a former travel agent loves helping agents put together great trips for
clients. Her first travel industry job was as a travel agent for the Japan Tourist
Board. As Classic Vacations’ product director, Joelle manages a team of three
product managers. She is well respected by her colleagues at Classic. Arriola
continues to take on new challenges, always showing initiative, creativity and
business savvy.
Kasey Austin: Born in Alaska and raised in
Billings, Mont., Austin, 24, has been in the travel industry
from the beginning. As the daughter of Dan Austin,
founder and director of Austin-Lehman Adventures, she
traveled extensively, even as a child, on ALA trips to
Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica,
Germany, Holland, the western U.S. and Canada. Since
she was 11, Austin spent her summers working for the company in the field,
gradually progressing to guiding family trips in the Yellowstone and Tetons
regions. Now serving as Austin-Lehman’s executive field operations liaison,
Kasey works closely with ALA’s U.S. and European guides as well as tour
operators worldwide. While her work these days is mainly in the office, Kasey
still jumps on the chance to guide a tour whenever possible.
Robin Brooks: The 29-year-old marketing manag-
er for Kensington Tours, Brooks contracted an advanced
case of travel fever early in life. The Toronto native has
traveled extensively in various parts of the world, includ-
ing Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, and
has lived in Dubai, where she worked for an advertising
and marketing firm. Since joining Kensington Tours four
years ago, Brooks has been integral to the company’s growth through her
strategic planning initiatives and her work in driving the company’s product
launches, public relations, CRM initiatives and agent and trade communica-
tions. During her tenure, Kensington’s business has more than tripled, and her
colleagues credit Brooks with helping to build and nurture the brand.
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7. august 2013 • vacationagentmagazine.com78
Katrina de Bono: Travel has always been a
passion for de Bono, 32, marketing manager at Wendy
Wu Tours. Growing up, she spent her summers in Malta,
where her parents were from. With a lifelong interest
in other cultures and ways of life, Katrina majored in
international studies in college and dreamed of being
an adventurer, travel writer and photographer. De Bono,
who wanted work that would allow her to travel, started on her travel industry
career as a travel agent for Liberty Travel for three years before becoming a
destination specialist with Isram World of Travel for three years. Two years
ago, she joined Wendy Wu Tours as a destination specialist, learning all about
the product, and then switched to marketing, where she could use her graph-
ics skills. Now, she says, “I couldn’t be happier.”
Omer Eshel: Eshel, 34, who heads the Israel
Government Tourist Office in Chicago, has been called
one of the most creative and innovative directors that
the Israel Ministry of Tourism has ever had. He has really
changed the scene and infused new energy into Israel’s
tourism promotion efforts. Omer was trained and certified
as a guide and has extensive knowledge of Israel and its
biblical sites, which makes him a valuable resource for clergy or community
leaders who are putting together group tours of Israel. He has been effective
in helping to teach travel agents about Israel’s many facets so that they may
better sell the destination. Eshel travels throughout the U.S. giving lectures on
scripture. He also created a 12-part DVD and audio series called “The Bible
Comes to Life” for radio, TV and the Internet.
Joe Gorga: Travel Impressions’ Vice President,
Destination Teams, Gorga, 33, joined TI eight years ago
as an intern working for the Latin American product
destination team. Joe had big shoes to fill because his
father, Steve Gorga, had recently taken the helm of
Travel Impressions as CEO and was setting new, higher
standards for the company. Joe had to aspire to even
greater heights to distinguish himself. He seized on areas in which TI had
opportunities for growth and soon worked himself up to the position of direc-
tor of the domestic product destination team. While he headed the team, TI
earned more awards than ever before. In 2010, he was promoted to senior
director, Latin America/Mexico destination team, and helped to increase TI’s
bookings to Cancun and the Dominican Republic. In 2012, Joe was promoted
to vice president, destination teams, with responsibility for Mexico, Dominican
Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
the U.S., Canada, the Pacific and China.
Daniel Guerrero: Guerrero, 33, joined Brendan
Vacations in 2010 as marketing director, and has led his
team in rebuilding and relaunching the company’s web-
site, pushing its marketing efforts to a new level. Guerrero
began his travel industry career working summer jobs
during high school at the San Diego Zoo and Sea World
San Diego. At the tender age of 18, he joined the sales
and marketing team at the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau as a
summer intern. He graduated from UC, Riverside with a BA in political science
and marketing, interned at the Clinton Administration’s Visitors Office and took
his first full-time travel industry job as communications manager for Visit West
Hollywood. He became director of public relations of the Viceroy Hotel Group
in 2007.
Andrew Hickey: G Adventures’ 32-year-old social
media guru, Hickey built his own blog, “The Brooklyn No-
mad,” to such success that he was able to partner with
major travel brands, tourist boards and airlines before
selling it so that he could work full-time as a consultant
on social media marketing. Hickey was much in demand
and created successful marketing campaigns for South
African Airways, Visit Britain, CheapOair, Montreal Tourism, Fiji Tourism, Mar-
riott, Visit Jordan and, of course, G Adventures, where he is now employed
full-time as social media manager. Hickey grew G Adventures’ Facebook
presence from 30,000 to 300,000 “likes” in 365 days and intends to push it to 1
million by January 2014.
Brian John: The 35-year-old president and CEO of
Intrepid Vacations has amassed a long resume of experi-
ence in the travel industry, including management roles
with STI Travel, Central Holidays and BJ Travel Services,
and as operations director in the Virgin Islands for Ameri-
can Airlines. In 2003 John founded Intrepid Vacations,
a vacation packager to Europe, the Middle East and the
Mediterranean, with a direct-to-consumer model. But after a few years, John
realized that the market had changed and that travel agents were essential to
his business. He launched a campaign to connect with travel agents and the
company was reborn, targeting today’s travelers who want to “live like locals”
during their travels.
Caroleen Leverrier: Leverrier, 30, product
development manager at Eurobound, moved from Paris
to Los Angeles in 2006 after earning a degree in English
and American literature and history from La Sorbonne
Nouvelle University. Before moving to the U.S., her
experience in travel consisted primarily of having
worked in the reservations department of a French hotel
chain while in college. But once in L.A., Leverrier found a staff position at Eu-
robound and threw herself wholeheartedly into her work, rapidly establishing
herself as an important member of the Eurobound team. “I quickly developed
my own client base at Eurobound,” she says, “and learned to work on both
sides of the spectrum: hotel contracting and buyer on one side and exhibitor
and agency sales calls on the other.” As a product development manager,
she gets to package and sell Europe, where she grew up, which is a great
feeling. “Agents rely on my expertise and trust my judgment,” she says. ”It’s
empowering in a good way.”
Willie Montano: A child prodigy, Montano
worked his way up from the mailroom at CIE Tours Inter-
national to become its director of advertising and online
marketing at the ripe old age of 35.
Growing up in Colombia, Montano excelled in school,
skipping grades and graduating from high school at
age 14. His parents sent him to live in the U.S. with his
uncle who worked for CIE Tours. Willie went with his uncle to the office one
day and asked for work. He was given a job in the mail room. From there
Montano advanced into accounting, brochure development and pricing, and
created Excel charts to manage passenger loads. He took college courses
on Web design and e-commerce to help him with his work at CIE, where he
has a key role in its marketing efforts.
Ashish Sanghrajka: Growing up in Kenya
where his father founded Big Five Tours, Sanghrajka, the
35-year-old president of Big Five Tours & Expeditions,
was immersed in the travel business from the begin-
ning. In the 1980s, the family moved to New York where
he learned the basics of the business from stuffing
brochures into envelopes to typing itineraries for clients.
After earning a degree in political science and international economics,
Ashish worked as an economic analyst for Charles Schwab before returning
to the family business in 2002 in its Asia and Orient division. He took charge
of the division, and in 2005 became vice president of sales and marketing. In
2008 Sanghrajka was promoted to president.
Joshua Smith: Smith, 28, product manager at
Travcoa, was bitten hard by the travel bug at Virtuoso’s
Travel Mart in Las Vegas in 2007, just after he joined
Virtuoso as a sales coordinator. At Virtuoso, Smith rose
quickly to account manager and then to manager of
tourism board partnerships. In 2011 he co-founded a
travel marketing and consulting firm. One of his clients,
Travcoa, offered him a full-time job and Smith is now product manager for
Travcoa’s Independent Journeys. Smith is also a founder of Millennials in
Travel, a career development and networking organization for young travel
professionals. His co-workers laud his strategic abilities, attention to detail
and process, experience with all facets of the industry, and his dynamic and
charismatic personality.
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8. august2013•vacationagentmagazine.com
79
Lauren Smith: At age 32, Lauren Smith, Trafalgar
Tours director of marketing, already has 10 years’
experience in public relations and advertising. She
worked as marketing strategy manager for Boost Mobile
and as an account manager for Idea Hall, an integrated
PR, branding, marketing and advertisement firm, before
starting with Trafalgar in 2010 as a national accounts
marketing manager. In that position she was one of the leaders of Trafalgar’s
successful rebranding strategy. Lauren showed such talent, leadership,
resourcefulness and marketing expertise that within two years she was
put in charge of marketing for the whole company as director of marketing.
Smith earned a B.A. in communications with a minor in management from
Purdue University and an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business at
the University of California, Irvine.
Jim Tedesco: As director of marketing at GOGO
Worldwide Vacations, Tedesco, 28, has overall respon-
sibility for the tour operator’s marketing programs and
works with GOGO’s director of strategy on its strategic
planning. Tedesco also serves on the company’s SWOT
team of eight top executives dedicated to overall planning
and forecasting for GOGO. Jim Tedesco joined the travel
industry in 2007 as a marketing coordinator in the sales and promotions depart-
ment of Liberty Travel. A year later when Flight Centre acquired the company,
he was named team leader for Liberty’s new retail marketing department, lead-
ing marketing initiatives for the travel agency chain’s 170 locations. Two years
later he moved to GOGO Vacations, Liberty’s sister company, as a business
development manager.
RAIL
Stacy Hook: Rail Europe’s operations manager,
Hook helped to create and implement the quality assur-
ance program for Rail Europe’s Contact Center, which
earned its first ISO accreditation in 2008, when Stacy was
promoted from quality assurance specialist to operations
manager. Hook had moved from Chicago to Orlando to
pursue a career in travel, first at a cruise agency and
then at Universal Studios. In 2000, back in Chicago, she joined DER and was
soon promoted to Customer Service, where she managed multiple products.
She became the quality assurance specialist in the Rosemont, Ill.-based
Contact Center when DER was purchased by Rail Europe in 2002. In awarding
Rail Europe its ISO 9001:2000 certification, BSI Management Systems America
lauded Rail Europe’s management processes as “superb,” adding that other
organizations “could benchmark and learn from Rail Europe.”
Airlines, Car Rentals, Insurance
Sarah Coggins: Thirty-four-year-old Coggins
(née McIntyre) has been “Flying in the Face of the
Ordinary” ever since she joined Virgin Atlantic as Head
of Communications in October 2011. Coggins oversees
Virgin Atlantic’s public relations, events and press team,
internal communications and social media. She came to
Virgin Atlantic from the airline industry. She was UK&I
Communications Manager at easyJet from May of 2010. Previously, Coggins
served for over 10 years in communications and public relations roles at
Hewlett-Packard in the U.K.
While at Virgin Atlantic, Coggins has played a pivotal role in overseeing
the airline’s “Flying in the Face of Ordinary” campaign and in experiential
campaigns like Virgin’s “Conversations in a Cloud.” Coggins has also been
the media point person for the launch of new routes, including Mumbai, Van-
couver, Cancun, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Manchester, and the airline’s two
newest Clubhouses at Newark and JFK.
Most recently, Coggins brought a group of journalists to Edinburgh for
the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s new “Little Red” service from Heathrow to the
Scottish hotspot, where she also introduced Virgin’s new CEO Craig Kreeger to
the press and oversaw a photo op with Sir Richard Branson himself, who was
dressed in underwear that read, “stiff competition.”
Nonplussed as always, Coggins managed the assembled press, photog-
raphers and crew in and around Edinburgh Airport like a general moves her
troops. Like Virgin Atlantic itself, Coggins communications style is relaxed, fun
but always on point. At the end of the press op, Sir Richard put his arm around
her and said, “I rely on Sarah for so much. She’s amazing.” We agree.
Maggie Fischer: The director of marketing com-
munications and brands at ARC, Fischer, 34, oversees all
of the company’s marketing and advertising activities,
ensuring that customers understand the value of ARC.
Among other accomplishments, she was instrumental
in rebranding ARC as a more approachable, friendly
organization. Since then, ARC has won several awards,
including Best Corporate Identity from the American Marketing Association
and Best Advertising Campaign for a VTC Program from Graphic Design USA.
In fact, Fischer is credited with launching ARC’s marketing department, which
consists of a creative team, account managers, a web development team and
other staffers.
Nicolas Krohne: Krohne, 28, British Airways’
commercial director for Canada in Toronto received the
North American Excellence Award in 2012. He joined
British Airways in 2007 as part of the Finance Leadership
Graduate Program. Krohne’s responsibilities included
preparing financial initiatives, budgets and cost models
for such departments as Communications, Customer
Service Premium Projects and Latin America Marketing. He was responsible
for sales analysis in the Americas. Krohne won BA’s North America Sales
Excellence Award Best Supporting Colleague of 2010. In 2011, he joined the
Chicago sales team as account manager prior to being named commercial
director for Canada.
Brian Lutz: Lutz, 33, is vice president of interna-
tional e-commerce at Auto Europe. He started at the
company in 2000 as a reservations agent and became
a supervisor two years later, managing a team of up to
20 phone and Internet agents. He eventually joined Auto
Europe’s marketing department, where he performed
several functions, including search engine marketing,
email marketing and building affiliate partnerships. Today, in addition to work-
ing on e-commerce solutions for travel agents in the U.S., Lutz works closely
with Auto Europe’s offices in Munich and Sydney to assist with their travel
agent outreach throughout Europe and Australia.
Katitza Mandakovic: The 33-year-old Leisure
Director, North American for LATAM Airlines Group, Man-
dakovic leads the tourism strategy for the company in
North America. Based at the LATAM Airlines Group North
America headquarters in Miami, Mandakovic manages
the airline’s industry relations strategy and the develop-
ment of LATAM’s tourism business from North America
to South America. Mandakovic joined the travel industry in 2010 when she
moved from the cargo side of LAN, where she had worked for six years, to its
passenger division. Mandakovic was named U.S. Leisure Director for LATAM
Airlines in September 2012, after the merger between Lan and TAM Airlines,
adding Brazil as a new destination to develop traffic from North America.
Eric Powers: In his brief tenure, Powers, 32,
strategic marketing manager at insurance provider
Travel Guard, has managed successful front-line
agent engagement campaigns along with long-running
agent training initiatives and optimization via strategic
alliances, including the management of marketing
relationships with Travel Guard’s national consortium
and co-op partners.
Powers is also known at Travel Guard for his innovative approaches that de-
liver results via new agent technology initiatives and tools. Having previously
worked in retail sales, Eric was ideally prepared for his current role working
with travel agencies to help them achieve optimal production results, and
managing Travel Guard’s business-to-business sales technology support unit.
Destinations
Jessica Ahern: At just 26 years of age, Ahern is
Events Director at Tourism Cares, a major position in an
organization that creates events to restore heritage sites.
According to Tourism Care’s retired Executive Director
and CEO, Bruce Beckham, “Jessica has learned by lis-
tening, learning and doing and now is in complete control
of the Tourism Cares for America volunteer programs
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9. august 2013 • vacationagentmagazine.com80
among other events operated by Tourism Cares.” Ahearn, who has been with
Tourism Cares for about five years, also brings a talent for graphic design and
creates all of the organization’s ads and promotional materials.
Ivy Chee: As the Pacific Area Travel Association’s
Regional Director – East Asia, Chee, 31, develops mem-
bership in that region, and “will drive PATA’s Next Gen
philosophy across Asia,” notes PATA CEO Martin Craigs.
She is also Chapter Coordinator for Brunei, Indonesia,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Chee once worked for travel aggregator Wego Pte in
Singapore and for Singapore Press Holdings. She has also worked with clients
like Malaysia Airlines, IHG, Starwood, Hilton, Accor, American Express, Tour-
ism New Zealand and Tourism Western Australia. She speaks English, Manda-
rin, Cantonese, Malay and basic Japanese. She’s also a Taekwondo black belt.
Emma de Vadder: De Vadder was recently
named VisitEngland’s Regional Director, North America
at the tender age of 32. She began working in public
relations in London before she crossed the pond to learn
the ins and outs of destination marketing with some of the
best in the business at NYC & Company, where she be-
came the senior manager, travel and tourism PR. She has
been with VisitEngland for nearly four years now and managed public relations
and travel trade activities throughout the milestone events of 2012, including
the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration.
David DiGregorio. With a lifelong passion for
travel, DiGregorio, 31, traveled to more than 60 countries
before joining South Africa Tourism in 2009 as head
of marketing and communications for SAT in North
America. DiGregorio launched the destination’s social
media strategy and forged key partnerships with the
likes of TV’s “The Bachelor,” “Jeopardy!” and “All-Star
Celebrity Apprentice.” DiGregorio’s international marketing experience also
includes consulting for the French wine industry, facilitating trade in Austra-
lia, managing press relations during the Beijing Olympics and promoting the
FIFA World Cup in South Africa. DiGregorio also has served on the regional
board of the Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa (APTA) and
as marketing advisor to the Southern African Foundation for the Conserva-
tion of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). Di Gegorio holds a master’s degree in
International Business from the University of Sydney as well as a bachelor’s
degree in Business Administration from Boston University.
Janine Jervis: The 32-year-old marketing and
communications manager for Jordan Tourism was born
and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, in a family of travelers
who were always “spread out all over the world” and
who always encouraged her to travel. Jervis moved to
Trinidad and Tobago at age 15 to finish high school, then
back to Kingston for two years and then on to Washing-
ton, D.C., where she earned a degree in business management with a minor
in information technology from George Mason University. Jervis gained a
wide range of work experience as an office manager, a babysitter and an
event planner in Trinidad. In 2007 she was discovered by the Jordan Tourism
Board and became an indispensable, and happy, member of the team.
Christina Heinze Johansson:Press
manageratVisitDenmarkUSA,Johansen,33,returnsforher
secondyearasaRisingStar.NowinherfifthyearatVisitDen-
mark,JohanssoncametoNewYorkasaninternattheUN
andwentontoworkatapublicrelationsagency,doingPRfor
manydifferentkindsofproducts,whileallthewhilelookingfor
achancetogetintotourism.“Thefragmentationofmediainto
somanydifferentformats,presentsamajorchallenge.It’satoughtimeforallofusas
thesetransitionschangetheworkspaceinsomanyways,”saysJohansson.
Tina Karimi: When “Keeping Up with the Kardashi-
ans” was shot in Bora Bora, Karimi, Tahiti Tourisme’s
30-year-old director of communications, worked from
pre-production through post-production and place-
ment of the episode and then with the marketing team
to capitalize on the exposure the show gave to French
Polynesia. Karimi oversees public relations, communications, and TV and film
production for Tahiti Tourisme, and works closely with the advertising side of
the marketing team. She has been with Tahiti Tourisme for five years, starting
in marketing and communications and working her way up to communications
manager before being named communications director last year.
Andrea Knecht. A second-time Rising Star,
Knecht, now 31, was known to U.S. travel agents and
tour operators through her sales calls and destina-
tion training programs for Switzerland Tourism. She’s
now the organization’s Sales Manager for Market
Switzerland based in Zurich, responsible for promoting
Switzerland as a destination to the Swiss. Knecht works
with Switzerland Tourism’s partners as well as national media to coordinate
national campaigns promoting domestic tourism.
Kathleen O’Connor: Though she’s just 29,
O’Connor has already used her talents on the world
stage when Britain was the event center of the globe
last year. As VisitBritain’s Public Relations Execu-
tive, USA, O’Connor managed the “Team USA: Britain
Bound” campaign, which was a groundbreaking
partnership developed with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
She developed a go-to guide for global media with backgrounders, contacts,
story lines and more for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Since joining VisitBritain, O’Connor has managed several marketing projects
and led all U.S. travel trade media relations, getting coverage for tourism to
Britain in consumer and trade media.
Rosina Shiliwala: The 33-year-old Director
North America of the Netherlands Board of Tourism
and Conventions, Shiliwala is the first American (and
woman) to lead the NBTC in the U.S. Shiliwala says
that creative branding in destination marketing is a
constantly evolving discipline that she finds as satisfy-
ing as it is challenging. A graduate of the University of
Amsterdam, she moved to New York City in 2006 and began doing public rela-
tions on travel accounts. In 2009 she was hired as public relations director,
North America at the NBTC and in 2011 was named director, North America
and now oversees all marketing, PR and business development in the region.
Yuki Yamagishi: Yamagishi, 32, honed her
professional skills on the hardest grindstone while she
was in the U.S. as director of the Japan National Tour-
ism Organization’s New York Office. She has returned to
Japan in her new position of assistant manager, market-
ing strategy, at the Japan Convention Bureau. At JNTO,
she handled the worst of travel marketing crises, the
tsunami that devastated Japanese tourism in 2011. She coordinated FAMs,
consumer and media events, promotions with partners and more. Raised a
Japanese national in Singapore and Australia, Yamagishi sees Japan from
within and without and thus understands tourism from both perspectives.
And she’s just 32.
Carla Denisse Portalanza
Zambrano: The Ecuador Ministry of Tourism
could have no more professional, talented and effec-
tive official than Zambrano, the agency’s 33-year-old
undersecretary of tourism promotion. Carla has been
instrumental in establishing new public policies for the
development of tourism promotion in Ecuador, which
has seen a 10.3 percent growth in arrivals between 2011 and 2012. Her ac-
complishments include the establishment of the “Ecuador Love Life” brand
positioning in more than 12 countries. She has also helped to produce more
than 55 events promoting Ecuador in 21 key countries. Arrivals to Ecuador
have grown by 10.3 percent
Born in the coastal city of Guayaquil, Carla holds a bachelor’s degree
in tourism from the Polytechnic School of the Coast and a master’s degree
in management policy and strategy for tourism destinations from the Open
University of Catalonia. She has also completed post-graduate marketing
courses in Belgium, Spain and Taiwan.
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