Mike Julius has been promoted to senior managing director of U.S. trade sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest cruise operator.

An accomplished member of the Carnival sales team for 24 years, Julius most recently served as managing director of U.S. trade sales. In his new role, he will oversee Carnival’s U.S. sales force and be responsible for trade support, including training and development, as well as business development growth. He will continue to report to Carnival’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales Joni Rein.

“Mike’s dedication and hard work toward supporting travel agents is widely known and he has excelled at this throughout his 24 years with Carnival,” said Rein. “It’s in great part to Mike’s efforts that Carnival has been able to expand this area for so many years and we look forward to seeing this growth continue as he embarks on this new phase of his career.”

“Many things have changed in the travel industry over the years, but two things haven’t changed for me – my passion for working with travel agents and my enthusiasm for the Carnival brand,” said Julius. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce new and exciting trade initiatives in the months ahead that are designed to build an even stronger relationship between Carnival and travel agents.”

Julius began his career with Carnival in 1989 as business development manager for the northern Midwest region. Various promotions followed thereafter, including director and vice president of sales for the central U.S. region, prior to taking on his most recent role as managing director of U.S. sales. Julius began his professional career in the travel industry, spending 11 years at AAA Iowa Travel & Transport as a leisure travel specialist.