New York, NY, September 8, 2020 – Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. announced today it has appointed Gina Gabbard to serve as Chief Sales Officer. In this newly created position, Ms. Gabbard will oversee and direct the company’s strategic sales growth with a focus on the retail travel sector and group sales.
Ms. Gabbard brings to Lindblad 25 years of experience in leadership roles within several premier travel companies. Most recently she served as Senior Vice President of Ovation Travel Group, a travel management and luxury leisure company, where she oversaw the strategic and day to day operations of the Leisure & Independent Advisors division. Prior to that she was Vice President of Leisure for the Tzell Travel Group where she managed the agency’s leisure & marketing programs, assisted in maximizing key leisure relationships, and developed and nurtured leisure supplier partnerships and programs.
Ms. Gabbard possesses an in-depth knowledge of both sides of the travel industry. Before joining the agency side, she held various sales positions with MLT Vacations, as well as with some of the country’s leading hotel companies, including Adams Mark, Marriott Hotels, and Promus Hotel Corporation. She has also served on several luxury travel agent advisory boards including Accor, Abercrombie & Kent and Belmond.
She joins Lindblad’s senior sales team of Jacinta McEvoy, Vice President of Global Sales; Lesa Bain, Vice President of Sales, North America, and Karen Kuttner-Dimitry, Vice President of Affinity and Charter Sales, who have played an integral role in the growth of Lindblad Expeditions.
“Gina’s broad expertise with diverse suppliers of upscale travel will be instrumental in further driving our sales initiatives as we navigate a more and more competitive world. Her addition builds on our established commitment to the travel advisor community, whose role we believe will be more important than ever in a post Covid travel landscape,” stated Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions.
“I am thrilled to join the Lindblad team during this momentous time in the company’s history and look forward to utilizing the unique insights I have gained working intimately with the travel advisor community to support the continued growth of our business,” said Gina Gabbard. “As we look forward to the future, I am confident that more travelers will crave the unique and intimate experiences that Lindblad is renowned for and I could not be more excited to lead the sales strategy with this incomparable team.”
About Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.
Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. is an expedition travel company that focuses on ship-based voyages through its Lindblad Expeditions brand and on land-based travel through its subsidiary, Natural Habitat Adventures, an adventure travel and ecotourism company with a focus on responsible nature travel.
Lindblad Expeditions works in partnership with National Geographic to inspire people to explore and care about the planet. The organizations work in tandem to produce innovative marine expedition programs and to promote conservation and sustainable tourism around the world. The partnership’s educationally oriented voyages allow guests to interact with and learn from leading scientists, naturalists and researchers while discovering stunning natural environments, above and below the sea, through state-of-the-art exploration tools.
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Contact: Patty Disken-Cahill, [email protected], 212-261-9081