g src=”/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/gillies.jpg” alt=”Jeffery Gillies” width=”250″ height=”188″ style=”margin: 5px; float: left;” />Coral Expeditions announced the appointment of Jeffery Gillies as Commercial Director.

Gillies joined Coral Expeditions from Ironman Asia-Pacific, a leading sports tourism entity, where as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Global Partnerships, he led a group overseeing all commercial and partnership responsibilities during a period of acquisition and expansion across the region, according to a statement. 

He also spent five years with Tourism and Events Queensland, heading up marketing, media, event attraction and development efforts as Regional Tourism Director, Tropics and Great Barrier Reef, based in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Gillies has held key management positions within the hotel industry. With InterContinental Hotels Group, Gillies career spanned a period of almost 15 years including roles as the General Manager of the hotel and tour operations in Kakadu National Park in Northern Territory, as Food and Beverage Director at the Crowne Plaza Auckland, and overseeing catering, golf events and leisure operations at a number of properties on the Gold Coast.

Born in Pullman, Washington State and raised in Sydney, Australia, Gillies earned an Associate Diploma in Hospitality and Catering from Ryde College of TAFE in Sydney, as well as a Certificate in Executive Leadership from eCornell University. He currently resides in Noosa in the Sunshine Coast with his wife and two children, and enjoys travel, surfing, mountain bike adventures and most of all parenting.

Gillies is a key appointment to the executive group of Coral Expeditions who have also recently placed new roles for Business Development Manager and Chief Information Officer to bolster the sales pipeline in the areas of charter and edu-tourism, incentives and conferencing and to enhance the information and technology capabilities of the business.