A&K Travel Group, parent company to Crystal, announced multiple new hires and promotions within its trade sales teams.

Jennifer Charlton joins A&K’s London office as senior vice president of trade sales and business development, UK and EMEA for Abercrombie & Kent.

Charlton previously worked at Amex GBT where she led the supplier partnership teams in EMEA and APAC, the global digital media team, M&E global supplier strategy and collaborated with the M&A team on acquisition and integration projects. Charlton was voted one of the Top 40 Women in Travel in the UK by WINiT.

Glen Rothe joins Crystal’s Aventura office as vice president of trade sales for Crystal. Rothe brings 30 years of experience in the travel industry and extensive cruise industry experience from Norwegian Cruise Line. Rothe will be recruiting four new sales directors for North America and other executive roles to support Crystal’s U.S. and Canada trade partners.

Jacqueline Leyva joins Crystal as vice president of trade reservations, air, and turnaround operations in the Aventura office, where she will provide support for both North America and LATAM trade partners. Previously, Leyva worked for companies such as SeaDream Yacht Club, Cunard and Atlas Ocean Voyages.

Sharla Smith joins Crystal as regional sales director for Central USA. Before joining Crystal, she held roles at Scenic, Paul Gauguin and Royal Caribbean.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time at A&K Travel Group,” said Chief Sales Officer Marett Taylor. “With strong forward bookings and a record year of 2023 sales, the successful relaunch of Crystal, and an amazing group of new sales leaders, we are poised for great success. We remain dedicated to our travel advisor community and equipping our sales teams to deliver the highest level of service. We have robust plans to expand educational opportunities, invest in sales and marketing resources, and offer other initiatives to help our trade partners grow their businesses.”

A&K has also promoted several team members including:

• Shawn Johnson, senior vice president of sales, North America, A&K
• Jay Warren, vice president of sales, North America, A&K, A&K DMCs and Sanctuary Retreats
• Oscar Dunn, vice president of cruise sales, A&K and Crystal
• Kim Guimaraes, vice president of national accounts, A&K and Crystal
• Stephen Loughlin, national accounts business specialist, A&K and Crystal
• Rob Cifuentes, director of sales, LATAM, A&K and Crystal
• Natalia Pessoa, director of sales, Brazil and Argentina, A&K and Crystal
• Greice Penteado, GP marketing, general sales and marketing agent, Brazil, A&K and Crystal.