Virtuoso's Bill Smith Will Retire

bill smithVirtuoso has announced the upcoming retirement of Bill Smith, a 44-year industry veteran. Smith will officially retire on July 1 from his role of vice president of cruise sales, a position he has held with Virtuoso since June of 2011. 

Virtuoso will promote Beth Butzlaff to the role of vice president, filling the vacancy left by Smith’s retirement. Butzlaff brings more than 20 years’ travel experience to the role, with six of those years spent at Virtuoso.

In his five-year stint with Virtuoso, Smith has helped drive growth in Virtuoso’s cruise division, the company said. Smith was most recently involved in the rebranding and expansion of Virtuoso Voyages, the company’s flagship cruise program. He added six additional suppliers to the program. Prior to his time with Virtuoso, Smith held executive roles at Crystal Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Costa Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Eastern Airlines.

Following his departure this July, Butzlaff steps into the role of vice president of cruise sales, following her position as managing director of Virtuoso’s cruise program, where she spearheaded the network’s expansion of cruise product into global markets, developed advisor training initiatives and set preferred supplier sales and marketing strategies. Prior to her time at Virtuoso, she served as vice president of sales at the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, where she oversaw fleet operations, sales programs and cruise deployment. 

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