TORONTO — Host agency Travel Professionals International (TPI) has taken a major step to strengthen its position with the travel trade with the appointment of Zeina Gedeon as CEO.

Effective immediately, Gedeon will take on her new role with a focus on two key priority areas: growth and innovation.

Gedeon is well-known in the travel industry, heading up Air Canada Vacations as President and CEO. She left ACV in 2014.

From September 2015 to June 2016 Gedeon was CEO of TravelBrands. “My departure comes as TravelBrands is ready to move into its next phase,” said Gedeon at the time. “My role was to actively participate in consolidating the different companies, develop the new branding and revitalize several areas of the business. Together with a stellar team, we achieved our goals.”

Now at the helm of TPI, Gedeon “brings an incredible amount of experience to TPI,” said Morris Chia, TPI President. “Through this experience and her relationships we are perfectly poised for Zeina to take TPI to the next level of growth and innovation.”

Gedeon’s growth priority takes aim at increasing sales and commission revenues for the company in addition to building TPI’s footprint, through acquisition of individual travel advisors, storefronts, and agency groups. Her innovation priority will further develop internal systems such as TPI’s exclusive Lynx platform, building on existing gains the company has made in lead-generation and automated content delivery for its travel advisors.

“Innovation cannot happen without the correct corporate culture, and TPI’s head office team and travel advisors have the incredible passion and knowledge needed to continue to grow and innovate together,” said Gedeon. “I’m excited to contribute to these ongoing efforts started under Morris’ leadership.”

Gedeon brings to TPI over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, including her roles at Air Canada, ACV and TravelBrands, in addition to her previous experience on TPI’s Corporate Advisory Board.

Gedeon is based between Montreal and Toronto and can be reached at zgedeon@tpi.ca.

TPI has made several high-profile hiring moves recently, including changes to its sales and marketing team in November 2017, in an effort to expand its cross-country reach and establish a stronger presence, particularly in Ontario.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Click here to read Part 2.