Who’s Where in Travel: New at Carnival Corp, MMGY Global

New executive appointments at Carnival Corporation and MMGY Global lead this week’s news on people in the travel industry. 

This week Carnival Corporation named Katie Lahey to its board of directors. Lahey, who is the executive chair, Australasia, for the leadership and talent firm Korn Ferry and the chairman of the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia, also previously served as executive chair of Carnival Australia from 2006 2013. This week Carnival Corp. also announced that Jason Glenn Cahilly will step down from his position as a member of the Audit Committees to accept the appointment to the Health, Environmental, Safety & Security Committees of the boards effective April 1, 2019.

Also this week travel marketing firm MMGY Global named new people to two major leadership roles: Katie Briscoe as president and Craig Compagnone as chief operating officer (COO), both of whom are longtime executives of the organization. Briscoe is a 10-year veteran of the agency and the first female president of MMGY Global. Compagnone has been with the company for 14 years, working with clients including Marriott, Visit Oakland, Windstar Cruises, Delaware North, Visit Santa Barbara and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In tour operator news, this week Avanti Destinations named Jeannie Kutz as its Mid-Atlantic regional sales director, responsible for New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, as well the District of Columbia, Manhattan and the eastern areas of both Pennsylvania (to Harrisburg) and Tennessee (to Chattanooga and Knoxville). Reporting to Avanti Chief Marketing Officer John Hanratty, Kutz has 25 years of experience in the travel industry, most recently as Northeast regional sales manager for Tahiti Travel Services, a tour operator headquartered in Papeete, French Polynesia.

This week Exodus Travels appointed Wendy Mills to the position of Business Development Manager, Eastern USA & Canada. Mills, who hails from the East Coast, has held prominent travel sales and hospitality roles with the Crowne Plaza Beaverbrook, CARIS Geospatial Software, and CAA.

Finally, in hotel news, a number of individual properties made new leadership appointments this week:

  • Mario Bevilacqua von Gunderrode was named the general manager of the San Francisco Proper Hotel, while Sade Lee was named its director of sales and marketing. 
  • The Hyatt Regency Austin hired Jeff Ouradnik as its director of sales and marketing. 
  • Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa announced the appointment of Aaron Weegar as the resort’s new director of sales and marketing.
  • Finally, the Kimpton Goodland appointed Barry Dorsey as its general manager. 

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