Tubman moves up amid Regent sales-force moves to boost trade support

Thirty-four-year travel industry veteran Shawn Tubman was made svp sales. He has been with Regent since 2011 and recently held the position vp national accounts.   

Backfilling Tubman as vp national accounts is Shemain Grasso, who has spent the past 15 years with Regent, most recently as senior director of national accounts.

The sales force realignment is aimed at developing stronger relationships with accounts, both large and small, and working more closely with travel partners to create and execute plans that grow their business.

Carlos Garzon, vp sales operations, heads the field sales and marketing teams along with a newly expanded business development team led by Joseph Leon, senior director of business development and travel agency sales. The expanded business development team will provide additional resources for agents new to selling Regent Seven Seas Cruises and agencies that require additional support to reach their sales goals.  

The line said high performing, large volume accounts also should benefit from this new structure as local sales and marketing directors will have additional capacity to focus on these top-tier accounts. Barbara Staiger, vp key accounts, will lead the core team based in Miami tasked with providing support for the highest-producing retail agencies.

'The travel trade landscape continues to evolve, and we wanted to align our resources to provide superior support for agency partners of all sizes and models,' said Randall Soy, who recently was promoted to evp sales and marketing. The new alignment, he continued, will enable the company to increase the level of collaboration and better understand the business needs of all agencies that sell Regent.

The brand is gearing up for the introduction of newbuild Seven Seas Explorer this year and is planning a major refurbishment program for the remainder of the fleet.