PONANT has realigned its Asia Pacific commercial team structure, aligning with the company’s commitment to meeting industry trends and growing needs of trade partners across the region.
In response to accelerated growth across the region, a suite of changes and internal promotions have occurred within its existing sales team, the end goal of which is to strengthen its presence and service offering to the trade.
Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.Under the leadership of Deb Corbett, General Manager Sales & Marketing Asia Pacific, the region gets a boost of extra head counts. Effective immediately, Julie Rogers’ team has the following changes:
Annabelle Brown takes on the role of State Manager Victoria & Tasmania; Janelle Ramsey becomes State Manager Queensland & Northern Territory and Kristina Sambaher, State Manager New South Wales & ACT, with Sandra Cahill assuming the position as Inside Sales Executive
Alan Wilcock has been recruited as Business Development Manager, New Zealand following the departure of Bianca Bratton who is following her passion for adventure, outside of the travel industry. Wilcock commenced in his new role this week and joins PONANT with years of experience in the travel industry spanning the airline, hotel and cruise sectors.
As part of this growth and structure evolution, PONANT has introduced a new role within its Australian commercial team – that of State Manager Western Australia & South Australia. Kate Hansen has accepted this newly created role, marking a significant step towards enhancing PONANT’s presence in these ever-growing states. Hansen joins PONANT with years of experience in the travel industry spanning retail travel, luxury touring, wholesale and cruise. She begins in this new role on 20 May 2024. Her appointment enables Annabelle Brown and Janelle Ramsey to prioritise the larger metro states of Victoria and Queensland, catering to the growing needs of trade partners and their clients in these areas.
In a parallel effort to strengthen its presence across the Asia-Pacific region, PONANT has also announced promotions and new appointments in key Asian markets:
Manish Sonar, previously Business Development Executive for India & Sri Lanka, has been promoted to Business Development Manager – India & SE Asia, ensuring wider support of the emerging markets in Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand, which allows Julie Rogers time to develop the strategic vision for the territories.
The PONANT Shanghai office managed by Jin Zhang, Head of Commercial & Marketing – North Asia sees Phoebe Liu being promoted into the newly created role of Business Development Manager – North China and a newly created role of Reservations Executive, already having been filled by new employee, Lisa Xu.
“These structural enhancements signify PONANT’s dedication to meeting the evolving needs of our valued trade partners in the Asia Pacific region,” Corbett added.
“We are poised to deliver exceptional service and support as we embark on this exciting phase of growth, exemplifying PONANT’s ongoing efforts to nurture talent and expand its influence in key markets by leveraging the team’s experience and proven contributions.”
Lead image, from left are PONANT’s: Sandra Cahill, Inside Sales Executive; Kristina Sambaher, State Manager New South Wales & ACT; Julie Rogers, Director of Sales, Asia Pacific; Deb Corbett, General Managers, Sales & Marketing, Asia Pacific; Annabelle Brow, State Manager Victoria & Tasmania and Janelle Ramsey, State Manager Queensland & Northern Territory.
