g src=”/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/lp.jpg” alt=”Leslie Peden President, Celestyal Cruises, North America.” width=”250″ height=”167″ style=”margin: 5px; float: left;” />Celestyal Cruises has announced the appointment of Leslie Peden as President, Celestyal Cruises, North America.
Peden will be responsible for promoting Celestyal Cruises in North America to drive business growth and market share, according to a statement.
Peden will build on the foundations laid by Nicholas Filippidis who has led the business development efforts on behalf of Celestyal Cruises throughout North America. Filippidis will continue to be a valuable resource for our company as he takes on a consultancy role ensuring a smooth transition for travel partners, said the company.
Peden brings 30+ years of success in cruising, tour operations, air and rail travel, including a proven track record serving in senior management and executive roles for such companies as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Holidays Cruises, and Island Cruises (now TUI).
A British national, Peden held full P&L responsibility for Virgin Holidays Cruises and the integration of this business unit into the wider Virgin Travel Group. Among his many accomplishments while at Virgin, he developed and executed Virgin Holidays Cruises’ first fully-integrated marketing ‘peaks’ campaign with the launch of a new dedicated cruise brochure, new classified press creative and the business entity’s first-ever national TV, digital and social media campaign.
Prior to Virgin Holidays Cruises, Peden was with Island Cruises, where he defined and executed a five-year strategic plan for trade and consumer sales, multi-channel distribution, trade and direct marketing, customer services, call center operations and a winter air-sea program for all international markets, including the U.K.
Kyriakos Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises, said “We are excited to bring Mr. Peden onboard. He is an industry standout and an innovator who brings decades of travel expertise, with an emphasis on cruising. We expect Mr. Peden will bring immeasurable enthusiasm to his role and we look forward to him achieving tremendous success in North America.”
