Ponant's Sam Chamberlain hones target organization/leadership team

They are Susan Robison, Ellen McIlvaine, Alex Molcard, Jill Wermuth, Faith Earley and a soon to be appointed VP of groups and charters.

This reduces Chamberlain's direct reports from nine, allowing him to be 'very active in the field,' and he said it harnesses the collective strength of the Ponant and Paul Gauguin Cruises teams under the Ponant Explorations umbrella.

'I'm very excited with these changes,' Chamberlain told Seatrade Cruise News. 'We've built a high-performing team that's ready to grow the Americas at a much faster clip.'

Susan Robison

Formerly GM sales and marketing for Paul Gauguin, Robison is now VP marketing and communication for Ponant Explorations (both brands).

Ellen McIlvaine

McIlvaine, formerly VP sales North America for Ponant, is now VP sales, Ponant Explorations, managing field sales and travel agency engagement.

VP groups and charters TBA

Chamberlain said he is close to finalizing the hire for this position.

Jill Wermuth, Alex Molcard and Faith Earley

Rounding out the Ponant Explorations leadership team in the Americas are Wermuth, Molcard and Earley.

Wermuth continues as director of product development.

Among his duties, Molcard, earlier promoted to COO, has overseen the combining of Ponant and Paul Gauguin reservations into one group, renamed the customer care team.

And Earley joined recently in the newly created chief of staff role, working closely with Chamberlain to drive processes and implement new projects.