The Travel Institute Expands Leadership

In response to record growth and in order to manage its continue growth, The Travel Institute has promoted two of its senior leaders to greater roles within the organization. Guida Botelho, CTIE, has been promoted to senior director of education, while Taylor Ruecking has been promoted to senior director of marketing and technology. Together, the two will oversee most of the non-profit’s day-to-day operations, while Diane Petras, CTIE, president of The Travel Institute, will shift to focusing on long-term strategic planning.

“We have been in a period of growth for some time now with steady, strong demand for agent training, exciting new partnerships and no indicator of slowing down – our industry is back,” Petras said. “I’m thrilled to be able to lift up Guida and Taylor as co-leaders to ensure we maximize our potential while remaining agile and responsive in delivering quality education for our industry.”

“This is great news for current and future students as these three proven leaders recalibrate their roles to further strengthen The Travel Institute’s ability to serve our industry’s educational needs,” added Gary Pollard, CTC, chairman of the board for The Travel Institute. “We are fortunate to further tap their collective energy and expertise and benefit from their continued momentum.”

Botelho will continue to oversee curriculum development, as well as some key industry relationships, while also taking the lead on sales and pricing.

Ruecking who has been responsible for The Travel Institute’s back-office technology, the ecommerce website and marketing since 2014 now adds efforts to drive operational successes related to technology, technology partners and the e-learning environment.