WHY IT RATES: Strong growth and a commitment to travel advisors led to the promotions. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior WriterWholesale custom tour operator Avanti Destinations has named John Hanratty senior vice president of sales and industry relations, reporting to executive chairman Paul Barry, and Gina Bang director of marketing and Training, reporting to chief operating officer Mark Grundy. MORE People Previously, Hanratty served as the company’s chief marketing officer, which included responsibility for sales and marketing. Bang has been senior manager of inside sales and marketing for the past three years.“Given our company’s strong growth over the past year and our commitment to selling exclusively through travel advisors and consortia, we need John to focus exclusively on consortia relations and the sales management function,” Barry explained. “Gina has doing a wonderful job creating promotional partnerships with many tourist boards, as well as managing marketing and inside sales. She is one of our longest-tenured employees and knows Avanti inside out, making her the perfect person to take on training.”Based in Austin (TX), Hanratty joined Avanti Destinations in 2015 and has held senior management positions for 22 years in the travel business. Prior to Avanti, he was Senior VP of Agency Engagement at Milwaukee-based Mark Travel, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Travel Impressions, and before that Vice President of Marketing at Certified Vacations, as well as President of Future Vacations at Certified.Hanratty has also served in several positions at the USTOA, including Chairman for two years, Treasurer for two years, Marketing Committee leader for four years, and board member for ten years.Bang has been with Avanti for the past 16 years. She started as a customer service representative, then manager of inside sales, while at the same time functioning as the product manager for Central and Northern Europe. As Senior Manager of Inside Sales & Marketing, she has been responsible for maintaining and developing relationships with consortia, as well as tourist boards and other industry partners on joint marketing efforts. SOURCE: Avanti Destinations press release. Let's block ads! (Why?)