Avanti Appoints New Regional Sales Directors

FIT tour operator Avanti Destinations has appointed two industry veterans to regional sales director positions.

Amie Gribbon joins the company as North Central regional sales director, while Ken Pringle joins as Mountain West regional sales director. Both report to Gina Bang, chief sales and marketing officer at Avanti.

“With the appointment of Amie and Ken, we have completed the restructuring of our sales force, reducing territory sizes so that our regional sales directors have more face-to-face time with their accounts,” said Bang. “Both Amie and Ken know the challenges advisors face, having worked in travel agencies themselves and they bring well-rounded experience to their new roles as Avanti regional sales directors.”

Based in Chicago, Amie Gribbon covers Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She has worked eight years in the travel industry, most recently as regional sales account manager for Venture Ashore. Previously, she worked as a travel advisor and agency owner of XOXO Vacations in Pingree Grove, Ill.  She can be reached out agribbon@avantidestinations.com.

Ken Pringle is based in Colorado Springs, and covers Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. He has spent 23 years in different segments of the travel industry, most recently as a travel advisor and owner of Green Thumb Travel. Previously, he worked 14 years at Avanti in various positions, including director of reservations and call center manager. He was also a rail travel consultant at Rail Europe Group and a branch manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He can be reached at kpringle@avantidestinations.com.