Gifted Travel Network Strengthens Leadership Team with Three New Hires

Host agency Gifted Travel Network (GTN) has added three new executives to its leadership team, spanning sales, advisor success, development, and growth.

“GTN is entering its most ambitious chapter yet, and we’re building the team to lead it,” said Jennifer Cochrane, president and CEO of Gifted Travel Network. “We’re bringing together exceptional talent, deep industry relationships, and significant operational expertise to give our advisors even more of what they need to build successful businesses. This is an investment in our advisors and in the future of GTN.”

Joining the team as vice president of sales and marketing is Mary Pingpank Clifford. She brings more than two decades of luxury travel experience, including 16 years with Valerie Wilson Travel. She most recently served as vice president of supplier relations and event strategy at Chase Travel Group. Clifford will lead GTN’s preferred partner strategy, marketing initiatives, and efforts to increase visibility and commercial opportunities for GTN advisors.

Meghann Bjarnesen has been named vice president of advisor success, expanding on her previous leadership as GTN’s Travel Business University lead mentor and program manager. With additional operations experience at UnitedHealth Group and Evernorth, Bjarnesen will oversee the advisor journey from onboarding through business development, while leading host operations, booking support, and advisor milestone tracking.

Alvin Adriano joins GTN as vice president of advisor development. He brings more than 20 years of travel industry leadership and advisor education experience. Most recently he served as director of education at the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), where he helped advance the Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certification and ASTA’s mentorship program. At GTN, he will lead advisor engagement, community strategy, mentorship, and professional development.

As part of the reorganization of the leadership team, GTN Co-Founder Meredith Calloway steps into the role of chief growth officer. She will focus externally on expanding the brand’s reach through national speaking engagements and thought leadership. She will also focus internally on creating new opportunities for advisors to grow. In this role, Calloway will spearhead efforts to attract high-caliber professionals, second-career entrants, and business-minded entrepreneurs to the travel industry while also ensuring continued growth within the GTN community.

“I am excited about the depth of experience that we are bringing to the leadership team and how I will be able to contribute to helping advisors build the businesses of their dreams,” Calloway said.

“This team gives us an extraordinary depth of experience under one roof,” added Cochrane. “We’re investing ahead of where we’re going because our advisors are building serious businesses, and they deserve an organization with the talent, resources, and infrastructure to match their ambitions.”