Celebrity Cruises has promoted a trio of its top people from the North American sales team led by Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president, sales, trade support and service. Keith Lane has been promoted to vice president, field sales and national accounts, North America; Carol Cabezas to associate vice president, national accounts and strategic accounts, North America; and Ron Gulaskey to global director, corporate, incentives and charter sales.
Previously Celebrity’s VP, field sales, Lane managed inside sales, training and development, sales communication and drove the market intensification strategy in North America. In addition to managing these areas, Lane will now lead the premium brand’s field, national accounts, strategic accounts, and sales support teams.
Lane will be responsible for all sales efforts and the development and implementation of account promotions and advertising initiatives. He joined the company in 2004, and during his ten years with the brand has been responsible for widely successful launches of new sales teams in key markets, and was part of the 2008 executive team that created and introduced the then new boutique cruise line, Azamara Cruises, now Azamara Club Cruises.
Carol Cabezas, former director, sales planning and strategy, will report to Lane in her new role as associate vice president, national and strategic accounts, North America. She will manage the development of business opportunities with national consortia, key strategic trade partners and the continued success of Celebrity’s Galapagos product.
In her previous role, Cabezas was responsible for a wide array of operations, including the development and implementation of national promotional campaigns, trade compensation, business analysis and strategy, financial planning, and automation tools for trade and field sales. She also was part of the team that developed and implemented Celebrity’s 123go! and Pick Your Perk – two promotions in the cruise industry.
Formerly the director of corporate, incentives and charter sales, Gulaskey will now lead the team as global director, reporting to Ritzenthaler. Gulasky joined Royal Caribbean in 2002 as sales director, North East Region, and was promoted to director of corporate and charter sales, Celebrity Cruises in 2005. Gulasky has successfully built and grown Celebrity’s corporate, charter and strategic partner business, and in his new role as global director, he will continue to drive growth and profitability worldwide.
