Classic Vacations Names Carmen Gashnikov as Head of Host Sales

Classic Vacations has announced another major change to its leadership team: Carmen Gashnikov will be stepping into the role of head of host sales.

The news comes just days after the B2B luxury wholesaler announced that its CEO, Melissa Krueger, is departing Classic Vacations following 13 years with the company.  CFO Sharon Conway is stepping in as interim CEO, effective immediately. Earlier this month, Classic Vacations also expanded its team, naming Alexandra Farrington as a strategic account manager on the sales team, and promoting Joelle Apilado Cruz to senior vice president – Americas and Bonty Escallon as vice president – Europe on the supply management team.

In a post shared on LinkedIn, Classic Vacations announced that Gashnikov will lead Classic’s host sales commercial strategy. This role involves working directly to strengthen ties to the advisor community by strengthening key partnerships and growing engagement, while also seeking out new opportunities within the host agency space.

Gashnikov, who is based in Florida, brings to the role more than 15 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry. She joins from Europe Express, where she served in numerous trade-focused roles since 2019 — most recently as director of strategic partnerships. Previously, she also held a sales role at Bedsonline from 2013 to 2019.

“I’m thrilled to join Classic Vacations and look forward to building on the strong foundation already in place while creating new opportunities to grow our host business and deliver greater value to our partners and the travel advisor community,” said Gashnikov.