New Leaders Will Take the Helm at Four Key Industry Organizations
by Dori SaltzmanFour of the travel industry’s most influential organizations have recently named new executive leaders.
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) appointed Tony Gonchar as its new CEO, effective Jan. 3, 2011. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), named Christine Duffy president, effective in February. Duffy replaces Terry Dale, who was recently appointed president of the United States Tour Operators Assn. (USTOA). Dale takes the helm in January. And last week Jack E. Mannix, CTC, was named chairman of The Travel Institute.
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ASTA: When Tony Gonchar steps in as ASTA’s CEO, he brings more than 25 years of experience in different facets of the travel industry to the role. His background includes roles in strategic planning, marketing and branding, sales management and customer retention. Gonchar replaces William Maloney, who resigned as CEO in March.
Gonchar’s experience includes seven years at Expedia, where he ran the company’s private label and branded partnerships division, and two years as executive vice president of sales and marketing at Virtuoso.
Most recently Gonchar worked as a consultant for Microsoft, where he was responsible for building a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy for the online Microsoft Store division.
Gonchar told Travel Market Report that although it is too early to go into specifics, he will spend most of his early days at ASTA doing due diligence, evaluation and consultation before focusing on action in three core areas: finance, government legislation and consumer awareness.
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CLIA: Another veteran of the travel agency industry, Christine Duffy will become CLIA’s president in February 2011. A former travel agent, Duffy currently serves as president and CEO of Maritz Travel, a large meeting, event and incentive travel management company.
Duffy has “thorough knowledge of how travel, and cruises are marketed and sold through the agency distribution system, and a firm grasp of the issues facing the industry,” said Howard S. Frank, vice chairman of the board and COO of Carnival Corporation & plc. Frank also served as chairman of the executive committee in charge of hiring a new president.
“As a former travel agent and dedicated advocate of the agency distribution system, it is with real pleasure that I reach out for the first time to the travel agencies and agents of CLIA,” Duffy wrote in her first online marketing outreach to CLIA-member agencies. “You are the cruise industry’s most efficient distribution system and CLIA will do everything in our power to support your businesses and further your professional development.”
Duffy has been recognized several times for her work as a business and industry leader. The St. Louis Business Journal named her one of the 25 Most Influential Business Women; Corporate Meetings and Incentives chose her as one of the Top 10 Women Leaders in the Meeting Industry, and Meetings News named her one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry four times.
Duffy will be based in CLIA’s Washington, DC office, but will also work from the association’s office in Fort Lauderdale.
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The Travel Institute: Jack Mannix, CTC, will take over as chairman of the board at the nonprofit Travel Institute. Mannix replaces Scott Ahlsmith, CTC, president of 23Touch Points, Inc.; Ahlsmith served as chair of The Travel Institute for five years.
Mannix, an industry veteran who is founder and principal of Jack E. Mannix & Associates, said in a prepared release that he is “excited to take on this new role and become even more involved as The Institute’s chairman.” He has served on the board since leaving The Travel Institute in 2002, where he had been its president and CEO.
Mannix said he is looking forward to creating new initiatives for The Travel Institute. In 2011, he plans to focus on recasting the organization’s strategic plan and unveiling a more user-friendly website with new features and benefits for its members.
Other new leaders for The Travel Institute include Brian Robb, senior vice president of the Mark Travel Corporation, as vice chair, and Gary Pollard, president and CTC of Ambassador Tours, as secretary/treasurer.
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USTOA: As previously reported in Travel Market Report, Terry Dale leaves his tenure with CLIA to succeed the late Robert Whitley as USTOA president, effective in January.
Dale said he wants to cultivate a collaborative effort among members to devise creative solutions and programs that will build the tour business and raise the bar for the entire industry.
