Virgin Voyages announced the expansion of its North American sales footprint hiring Sean Russo as the company’s first sales manager in Canada.

Russo, who is based in the Toronto area, will oversee the entire Canadian sales territory and work closely with John Diorio, Virgin Voyages’ vice president of North American Sales, according to a company statement.

“Virgin Voyages is a bold, inspiring brand that’s challenged the status quo and created an incredible experience that Canadian travel advisors and their clients should be eager to learn more about,” said Russo.

“I’m excited to grow my current network and showcase that cruising with Virgin Voyages is uniquely different and needs to be explored by cruisers and non-cruisers alike.”

Prior to this, Russo worked as a sales development manager at Jobber where he collaborated with the marketing, success and product departments to optimize sales results. Before that, he spent 10 years with G Adventures, a sustainable travel company. He initially joined the company as a business development manager but was later promoted to national sales manager of Canada.

“Sean is an epic addition to our North American sales team and will help shape our sales strategy in one of our key feeder markets,” said John Diorio.

“His passion for travel, compelling sales experience and personal relationships within the region are unparalleled. We have an exciting year ahead, launching both Resilient and Brilliant Lady, and Sean is the perfect representative in a new region for the brand.”