Celestyal Looks to Grow North American Business with New Sales Hires

Celestyal, the Greek-owned small-ship cruise line that specializes in the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, has hired two new business development managers in North America.

Richard Sandoval will represent the West coast, while Stephanie McDonald will be based in Canada. Their main responsibilities will include developing strong relationships with key travel agents, group and tour operators, increasing trade awareness, providing training and marketing support in their respective territories, and representing the company at industry events.

Prior to joining Celestyal, Sandoval worked with Unique Vacations, Inc. and Sandals and Beaches Resorts. He previously spent three years as a travel advisor with Auto Club of Southern California-AAA.

McDonald served as a business development manager with Royal Caribbean in Canada and Florida for the past 15 years.

“As we continue to expand Celestyal’s visibility in North America, I’m thrilled to expand our team to meet the increasing demand we are experiencing from one of our fastest growing markets,” said Jon Grutzner, vice president of business development for the Americas at Celestyal. “It’s also key that we have invested in a highly-experienced business development team to support our travel advisor and wholesale business partners who are key to our success in this market.”